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INDIAN SKETCHES, 



DURING AN EXPEDITION 



PAWNEE TRIBES 

JOHN T. IRVING, JR. 

IN TWO VOLUMES. 
VOL. II. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

CAREY, LEA AND BLANCHARD. 

1835. 






Entered, June 15th, 1835, according- to Act of Con- 
gress, by JoHx T. luyiNG, Jn,, in the office of the Clerk 
of the Southern District of New York. 



ERRATA. 

Pag-e 74, line ^1, for Tappaye read Tappage. 
" 108,' " 3, for chief rend chief's. 
** 124, X," 20, for Loovah read Looah. 
*' 136, *' lOy for their surfaces ren.d the surface. 
«« 185, "15, for ihey read we. 
" 196, '* 7, for char r, el re^id eharnel house. 




INDIAN SKETCHES. 






CHAPTER L 



Preparations for Reception. ^-Reception hy 
Grand Paxmiee&. 

DuRixG the evening previous to our 
arrival^ several half-breeds, who had been 
sent out by the Commissioner to gain in- 
formation of the probable reception which 
awaited us, came dropping in, all bearing 
promises of a friendly welcome, from 
the Pawnee chiefs. At sunrise the next 
morning, the tents were struck, and 
placed in the heavy baggage wagons ; and 
a more than usual bustle and note of pre- 
paration was heard in the camp. The 

VOL. II. 2 



8 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the heavy baggage wagons, and the party 
commenced slowly moving towards the 
village. 

It was a fine sunny morning ; the clumps 
of trees which clustered on the low banks 
of the river, and the numberless islands 
which dotted its broad, shallow waters, 
were alive with woodpeckers of every 
size and hue. In every direction, they 
darted among the tall dead trees which 
overhung the muddy stream, making the 
trunks resound with the incessant ham- 
mering of their small but powerful beaks. 
Large flocks of gaily plumed parroquets, 
whirled screaming past us, with a surpris- 
ing velocity. 

At ten o'clock the party had travelled 
several miles across the prairie, and our 
vicinity to the village was becoming 
more perceptible. Mounted Indians, sent 
out to watch for our approach, were 
seen here and there flying across the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 9 

hills in the direction of the village, to give 
notice of the arrival to their chiefs. At a 
distance we could perceive several bands 
of Indians in pursuit of large droves of 
their wild and fiery horses, which they 
were urging at a headlong speed in the 
direction of the town. In another quar- 
ter, on the top of a ridge of small hills, 
groups of ^ve or six were standing, in- 
tently watching the motions of the party, 
which, from the jaded state of the oxen, 
were necessarily slow. The soldiers who 
had been lazily lounging across the prairie, 
were now called in, and formed in a com- 
pact body round the baggage wagons. 
An hour more brought us in sight of the 
village. 

Upon our near approach, we could 
perceive that the hills surrounding it were 
black with masses of mounted warriors. 
Though they swarmed upon their tops, 
to the number of several thousands, yet 
2* 



10 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

they stood motionless and in silence, watch- 
ing the approach of the mission. At length 
a single horseman detached himself from 
the mass, and came galloping down the hill 
and over the prairie to meet us. As he ap- 
proached there was a wild, free air about 
him, and he governed his gigantic black 
horse with the greatest ease. I could not 
but think that if the rest of these warriors 
were of the same mould, any resistance of 
our band, however desperate, would avail 
but little against an attack of these proud 
rulers of the prairie. 

Upon reaching the party, he sprang 
from his horse, and shook hands with 

Mr. E . He then gave directions 

through the interpreter, that the band 
should be drawn up in as small a compass 
as possible, to avoid all contact with his 
warriors. After spending some time in 
completing his arrangements, he gallop- 
ed back, and gave the signal to the rest. 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 11 

In an instant the hills were deserted, and 
the whole mass of warriors were rushing 
towards us, across the broad bosom of the 
prairie. It was a moment of intense and 
fearful expectation. On they came ; each 
mad horse, with erect mane and blazing 
eye, urged forward by the bloody spur of 
an Indian master. They had reached 
within two hundred yards of the party, 
but still the speed of their horses was un- 
checked, and the powerful tramp of their 
hoofs rang like thunder upon the sod of the 
prairie. At a signal, however, from the 
chief, the band separated to the right and 
left, and commenced circling round us, in 
one dark, dense flood. Their whoops and 
yells, and the furious and menacing 
manner in which they brandished their 
bows and tomahawks, would have led 
a person unacquainted with their ha- 
bits, to have looked upon this reception 
as any thing but friendly. There is 



12 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

something in the fierce, shrill scream 
of a band of Indian warriors, which rings 
through the brain, and sends the blood 
curdling back to the heart. Their orna- 
ments, though wild, were many of them 
beautiful. The closely shaved heads of 
some were adornfed with the plumage of 
different birds. Others wore an ornament 
of deer's hair, bound up in a form resem- 
bling the crest of an ancient helmet, and a 
plume of the bald eagle floated from the 
long scalp-locks of the principal warriors. 
Some few wore necklaces of the claws 
of the grisly bear, hanging down upon 
their breasts. The bodies of some were 
wrapped in buffalo robes, or the skin of 
the white wolf; but the most of them wore 
no covering, save a thick coat of paint. 
This they had profusely smeared over 
their bodies and arms, and many had 
even bestowed it upon the heads and 
limbs of their horses. After dashing round 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 13 

US for some time^ the chief waved his 
hand^ and the turmoil ceased. The war- 
riors sprang from their horses^ and seating 
themselves round in a large circle, waited 
for the arrival of the chief of the Grand 
Pawnees. In a few moments he advanced 

to meet Mr. E , accompanied by the 

different chiefs of Tappaye Pawnee, Paw- 
nee Republican, and Pawnee Loup vil- 
lages. He was a tall, powerful Indian, 
A fillet of the skin of the grisly bear, or- 
namented with feathers, was bound round 
his head. Over his shoulder was thrown 
a large mantle of white wolf- skin, also 
adorned with feathers. His legs were 
cased in black leggings of dressed bufTalo 
hide, worked with beads, and fringed 
with long locks of human hair. These 
were taken from scalps won in his various 
war expeditions, and hung down over 
his knees, trailing upon the ground as 
he walked, He first advanced and wel- 



14 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

corned Mr. E ^ and afterwards the 

rest. The chiefs of the three different vil- 
lages were then introduced^ and repeated 
the words of welcome uttered by the first. 
This ceremony was scarcely finished^ 
when a movement was observed among the 
crowd, and a powerful roan horse, mount- 
ed by an armed Indian, bounded forward 
to the middle of the circle, where the rider 
sprang from his back. He was a stranger 
among the tribe, and spoke not their lan- 
guage — a Kioway* Indian, from the bor- 
ders of Mexico — a member of those wild 
tribes, who like the Arabs rove the immense 
plains of the west, and carry destruc- 

* We afterwards learned that this Indian had be- 
come enamoured of a young girl of his own tribe, 
the wife of another ; but her husband having gone 
upon some expedition, she had taken advantage of 
his absence to leave her nation with her lover ; and 
together they had fled to the Pawnee village, which 
they reached a week previous to our arrival. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 15 

tioii to all who are not strong enough to 
resist them. After pausing and look- 
ing around him for a moment, with a 
glance that seemed to challenge opposition 
from the assembled warriors, he walked 

up to Mr. E . He was slight and 

beautifully formed ; but there was a fire 
in his eye ; a swell of the nostril ; and a 
proud curve of the lip, which showed a 
spirit that brooked no opposition; shunned 
no danger; and could only be quenched 
by the chill of the grave. His long black 
hair, which trailed behind him on the 
ground, was plaited together, and orna- 
mented with about tw^enty plates of mas- 
sive silver. A band of silver was fastened 
round his throat, and several large medals 
of the same metal hung upon his breast. 
Upon his arms were several bands of sil- 
ver, and rings of the same upon his 
fingers. His leggings, though more fine- 
ly wrought, like those of the chiefs, 



16 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

were fringed with scalps. A scalp con- 
sisting of the entire upper part of a hu- 
man headj hung from the bit of his fiery 
horse. Upon coming up he offered his 

hand to Mr. E , and in succession to 

the rest; and after pausing and gazing 
upon us for a short time, with some curio- 
sity, he sprang upon his horse, and riding 
through the circle, was lost behind the 
more distant crowd of warriors. 

For a short time after the introduction 
of the various chiefs, the mass of grim 
beings hemmed us in, sitting upon the 
ground like so many dark forms of 
statuary, without voice or motion. Seve- 
ral at length arose, and coming towards 

Mr. E , and Major D , (the 

United States agent for the Pawnee In- 
dians,) extended the stem of their pipes 
to the lips of each, then, instantly retiring, 
resumed their station in the crowd. By 
this action, we afterwards learned, that 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 17 

each pledged himself to present a horse 
to the person to whom he extended his 
pipe. In the meanwhile^ two old men, 
who had no horses to lose by the free in- 
dulgence of liberal feelings, rose up, and 
by loud and vehement harangues, endea- 
voured to pique the liberality of the rest. 
They boasted of the number they would 
bestow, if they hut had them, and re- 
counted as examples the acts of generosity 
which they had performed in their youth. 
As that youth ran far back, beyond the 
memory of the oldest inhabitant, there was 
little probability of their being contra- 
dicted. 

After they had finished, the Wild 
Horse, (I do not recollect his Indian 
name) the principal warrior of the nation, 
stood up and harangued the assembled 
multitude. He launched out in a long 
panegyric upon the whites, which was 
delivered with a warmth of expression no 

VOL. II. 3 



18 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

doubt greatly increased by the sight of 
the wagons laden with presents. This 
warrior was one of the most singular as 
well as ferocious of the tribe ; and many 
were the tales of his war expeditions^ 
afterwards related to us by the trappers, 
as we lay stretched around our night-fires. 
His height could have been but little short 
of seven feet, and every limb was in pro- 
portion. Unlike the rest of his tribe, his 
hair remained unshaven, and hung in long 
tangled locks, which reached nearly to his 
waist, and were profusely smeared with 
red ochre. His low, retreating forehead 
was almost buried in wrinkles; and his 
eyes, deep set in his head, glowed like 
living coals. His nose was large and pro- 
minent; and the size of an enormous mouth 
was not at all diminished by two streaks of 
vermilion, which he had drawn from each 
corner, to his ears. He wore neither co- 
vering nor ornament, unless the profusion 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 19 

of black clay and red ochre which cover- 
ed his body, deserved that name. He 
stood out in his naked proportions a giant 
among those who surrounded him ; and 
the wild energy of his gesticulation as he 
delivered his harangue, showed the pro- 
digious strength hidden in his form, and 
which only required an occasion to bring 
it into action. From his youth upward 
he had been the leading warrior in the 
nation, and his deeds had spread a terror 
of his name through all the hostile tribes. 
Though no chief, his influence in the vil- 
lage was equal to theirs, rendering him as 
much an object of jealousy to them as of 
dread to their enemies. 

When he had finished his address, the 
chief rose and spoke to his men. After 
this the circle opened, and forming into 
two lines, one on each side, the warriors 
prepared to escort us into their village. 



20 INDIAN SKETCHES, 



CHAPTER II. 

Journey to the Grand Pawnee Village,— OM 
Indian Female, — Chief^s Lodge, — Indian 
Feasts, — Kioway Female^ 

As soon as we emerged from the crowd 
that had surrounded us^ we perceived the 
plain between us and the village swarming 
with the rest of its inliabitants. It ap- 
peared as if every man, woman, and child 
liad looked upon the day of our arrival, as 
one of jubilee. The boys had thrown aside 
their bows and arrows, the females had 
abandoned their drudgery, and the old men 
had ceased their songs af former victories, 
to paint themselves up for the festival. 
The reception was over, and all the re- 
quisite awe of their nation had been im- 
pressed upon us. They now threw aside 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 21 

the stern, unbending character of the In- 
dian warrior, and pressed round us with 
all the kind hospitality of hosts, in receiv- 
ing their most welcome guests. 

Small bands of young men amused them- 
selves by dashing around the party, at the 
full speed of their horses, and attempting 
to oust each other from their saddles by 
the violent collision of their animals. Oc- 
casionally a few would start off in a race 
across the plain, whooping and screaming, 
and clattering their arms in the ears of 
their steeds, to excite them even beyond 
the mad rate at which they were ca- 
reering. 

Others of the young men hung round 
the party, making their remarks on its 
different members, and occasionally ex- 
citing loud peals of laughter from their 
comrades. These however were frequent- 
ly cut short by a stern word from one of 
the chiefs. 

3* 



22 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

The whole road from the plain to the 
village, was lined with women and chil- 
dren. They had not dared to approach 
during the formalities of our reception^ 
but now eagerly pressed forward to gaze 
upon so unwonted a sight as that of a 
white stranger entering freely into their 
village. Besides this they were all anxious 
to gratify that curiosity which is pe- 
culiarly strong in the bosom of an In- 
dian — especially a female. 

They were nearly all mounted upon 
little stiff- maned drudge horses of the vil- 
lage, sometimes singly, but generally in 
clusters of two or three. 

In particular, one withered, gray- head- 
ed old squaw, with a family of four chil- 
dren under her charge, attracted our at- 
tention. She was mounted upon a little 
wall-eyed, cream-coloured pony, with a 
roach mane and a bob- tail. There was a 
lurking devil looking out of his half-closed 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 23 

eye, the very antipodes of his rider, who 
sat upon his back like the picture of 
Patience. Her charge she had arranged, 
as well as could be expected from a per- 
son in her situation. One little fellow, 
whose eyes gleamed like sparks of fire, 
from beneath the long tangled hair, which 
nearly covered his face, was striding al- 
most upon the neck of the horse, armed 
with a heavy Indian whip. One little one 
w^as dozing in her arms, another was cling- 
ing tightly to her back. The face of a 
fourth, like the head of a caterpillar, just 
ready to emerge from a cocoon, was peer- 
ing from the mouth of a leather bag, fast- 
ened between her shoulders. 

But though the woman thus scrupulous- 
ly divided the burden with her steed, he 
seemed far from satisfied with his situation, 
and at last determined to rid himself of his 
encumbrance. 

Tossing his head in the air, he com- 



24 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

menced waltzing^ and capering round upon 
his hind feet, to the great discomfiture of 
the squaw. In great tribulation she reach- 
ed out both hands, and clung with might 
and main to the high pommel of the In- 
dian pack-saddle, while two of the chil- 
dren, left to their own guidance, clung 
like monkeys round her body. 

The horse, finding that the first expe- 
riment had not succeeded to his satisfac- 
tion, altered his plan of action. He plant- 
ed his fore feet firmly upon the sod, and 
flourished his heels as high in the air as 
his head was the moment before. Still 
his rider continued to cling to the saddle, 
making use of every expression of Indian 
objurgation and soothing, in a vain appeal 
to the sensibilities of the restive animal. 
There was one, however, evidently de- 
lighted with his capers ; this was the na- 
ked little elf perched upon his neck, who 
evidently aided and abetted the mutiny by 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 25 

a sudden switch of his whip — occasionally 
casting back his sly, laughing black eye 
upon the chattering old lady and her 
screaming brood. 

At last the animal finding that no phy- 
sical force of his could free his back from 
the burden, came to the conclusion that 
the less time he spent in accomplishing his 
journey the shorter would be his ordeal. 
So he started off at a full gallop for the 
village, and we caught our last glimpse of 
him as he dashed between the lodges, 
urged on by the lash of his imp-like little 
rider. 

When the party had once commenced its 
march, it was not long before they reached 
the point of destination; for though the 
Indians crowded forward to satisfy their 
curiosity, they remained at such a dis- 
tance as to offer no obstacle to our pro- 
gress. This rule of etiquette was, how- 
ever, occasionally transgressed by troops 



26 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

of untrimmed, goblin-looking little urchins 
who hung upon the heels of the party. 
They crowded around the baggage wa- 
gons, and gazed with a mixture of terror 
and wild delight upon the oxen, who, 
with lolling tongues and reeling steps, 
were, almost inch by inch, winning their 
way to the village. 

Several times when a circle of little 
curious faces, anxious to see, but ready to 
run, had formed around the team, a sharp, 
shrill scream from some more mischievous 
of the gang, would in an instant disperse 
all their rallied courage, and send them 
scampering at full speed over the prairie. 

Another grand object of attraction was 
ihe Black Bcar^ who trudged in front, 
surrounded by a rabble crowd of women 
and children. From the first moment of 
our arrival he had been an object of in- 
tense curiosity, and had been gazed at 
with a mixture of fear and astonishment 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 27 

by the whole nation. But there is an old 
saying that " too much familiarity breeds 
contempt;^' and in this case it was veri- 
fied. By degrees, the circle which form- 
ed around him at a respectful distance, 
became more and more compressed. It 
was in vain that he attempted to rid 
himself of their company; they swarmed 
around him like ants. If he quickened 
his pace, they did the same; if he lin- 
gered, they were equally slow; and if he 
turned upon them, they scattered in every 
direction. But after a while, even this 
wore off, and they finally hemmed him in, 
so that it was almost impossible to move for 
the crowd. When they had thus closed 
upon him, the lurking spirit of mischief 
began to show itself. They tugged at his 
coat tail, they pulled his pantaloons, and 
they jostled him until the perspiration, 
the effect of fear and exertion, poured in 
streams down his face. At length one 



28 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

toothless, gray-headed old crone, attract- 
ed by the glistening appearance of his 
black leather cap, made a violent snatch, 
and seized hold of it. A hot scramble en- 
sued for the prize, which, after much de- 
rangement to the wardrobe of the negro, 
was obtained by the rightful owner. He 
had no sooner regained his property, than 
he opened his shirt, and placed it next his 
bosom. He then buttoned his coat over 
it up to the chin, evincing his respect to 
the nation by performing the rest of his 
journey uncovered. 

We found that the Pawnee village had 
been rebuilt since it was burnt by the De- 
lawares. It is situate in the open prairie, 
at the foot of a long range of hills, and 
within about fifty yards of the Platte. 
The river at this place is about two 
miles broad, and very shallow, being con- 
stantly forded by the squaws, who visit 
the different islands^ and obtain from them 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 29 

the only fuel and building materials, to be 
found in this part of the country. 

The lodges are numerous, and stand 
close together, without the least regard to 
regularity. They are built in the same 
way as those in the Otoe village. 

On account of the scarcity of wood, 
several families congregate together in the 
same lodge. The male portion pass the 
whole day, lounging and sleeping around, 
or gorging themselves from the large ket- 
tle filled with buffalo flesh, which is per- 
petually over the fire. 

As we entered the village, the tops of 
the lodges were completely covered with 
women and children, and the area in front 
of the chief's dwelling was equally crowd- 
ed. When w^e reached the front, the 
chief, who had ridden in advance of the 
party, stepped from the dark passage 
which formed the entrance to his abode, 
to meet us. He was completely enveloped 

VOL. II. 4 



30 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

in a robe of white wolf skin, upon which 
was painted a hieroglyphic account of his 
warlike achievements. Upon the approach 

of Mr. E , he advanced towards him, 

and taking the robe from his shoulders, pre- 
sented it to him, requesting him (through 
the interpreter) to keep it for his sake. 
He then ushered the party into his dwell- 
ing, and pointed out the place allotted for 
the reception of the contents of the wag- 
ons. After this he called together a num- 
ber of Indians, and gave them directions 
to assist in unloading. He stood at the 
door, watching their movements, to pre- 
vent any attempt at purloining — a crime 
too common among the lower classes of an 
Indian village. 

Nearly half an hour elapsed in this 
way, during which time the lodge was be- 
coming more and more crowded. One 
dusky form after another glided with a 
noiseless step over the threshold, moving 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 31 

across to the darkest corners of the lodge. 
Here they seated themselves upon the 
ground, and shrouded their shaggy robes 
around them, so as completely to screen 
the lower part of their faces. As they 
fixed their unwavering gaze upon us 
from the dark parts of the building their 
eyes seemed to shine out like glowing balls 
of phosphorus. 

Not a word was spoken — no underton- 
ed conversation was carried on — all was 
silence, save the hurried footsteps of those 
who were busied according to the direc- 
tions of the chief. No jests were uttered, 
for we were now under the roof of their 
leader, and any word spoken in derogation 
of his guests would have called down in- 
stant punishment. 

Upon our entrance into the lodge, a 
large kettle had been filled with buffalo 
flesh and hard corn, and placed over the 
fire. When we were fairly settled in 



32 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

our abode, and the bustle of unloading 
had in a measure passed away, the wife 
of the chief (by-the-by he had five of 
them) poured the whole of its contents 
into a large wooden bowl. She then arm- 
ed each of us with a black dipper made 
of buffalo horn, and made signs for us to 
commence. 

We did not wait for a second invita- 
tion, but immediately, with both fin- 
gers and dippers, attacked the moun- 
tain of food before us. We had not eaten 
since daylight; it was now late in the 
day ; and the appetites of the party, never 
particularly delicate, having increased in 
proportion to the length of their fast, the 
devastation was enormous. But every ex- 
cess brings with it its own punishment; 
and our case was not an exception to 
the general rule. Scarce had we finish- 
ed, when a little Indian boy, half cov- 
ered with a tattered buffalo skin, forced 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 33 

his way into the lodge^ elbowing in among 
the warriors with all that transient air 
of consequence worn by little characters 
when charged with some mission of import- 
ance. He came to the side of the chief, 
who was sitting near us, with his legs 
doubled under him, after the Turkish 
fashion, and whispered in his ear. The 
chief rose, and announced that the Long 
Hair, the second warrior of the village, 
had prepared a feast in honour of our arri- 
val, and was waiting for us to come and par- 
take. There was some demurring as to the 
acceptance of this invitation. The Inter- 
preter, however, informed us that there 
was no resource, as eating your way into 
the good will of the savages, is necessary 
to the success of an Indian treaty. It was 
useless to plead that we had already eaten 
sufficient, for that is a thing incredible to 
an Indian, who always carries with him 
an appetite proportioned to the quantity 
4* 



34 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

to be eaten^ and the opportunity of 
doing so. Let the latter come as often 
as it may, it invariably finds him pre- 
pared. 

After some consultation, seeing no re- 
medy, we left the lodge, and followed 
our little guide through the intricacies of 
the village, to the dwelling of the Long 
Hair. When we entered he was sitting 
upon the ground, and motioned us to a 
seat upon some dirty cushions of un- 
dressed hides. He was a stern, gloomy 
looking man, with an anxious, wrinkled 
brow, a mouth like iron, and an eye like 
iire. He evidently made efforts to be so- 
ciable ; but it was not in his nature ; and 
during the whole feast, the stern, unbend- 
ing character of the Indian warrior, was 
continually peering out from beneath the 
show of hospitality. He urged us to eat, 
and he even attempted to smile ; but it 
more resembled the angry snarl of a wild- 



INDIAN SKENCHES. 33 

cat, than the evidence of any pleasurable 
emotion. In short, we liked him not, and 
hurried through our feast as soon as possi- 
ble. When we had finished, and while a 
number of the party were smoking, in 
turn, from a large red stone pipe, which 
he passed round, the Doctor rose and slowly 
sauntered round the lodge. He at length 
observed a small bundle of bones, and skin, 
which hung from a pole crossing the cen- 
tre of the lodge. Curious to know what 
it might contain, he reached out his hand 
to take hold of it. From the moment 
that he had left his seat, the brow of the 
chief had darkened, but he said nothing ; 
contenting himself by narrowly watching 
the motions of his guest; — but no sooner 
had he touched the bundle, than the effect 
upon the frame of the Indian was like an 
electric shock. He half started from his 
seat ; the veins on his forehead swelled 
like whipcord ; and his eyes shot fire. — 



36 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

With clenched fists and extended arms^ 
he shrieked out something between a 
yell and an imprecation. The secret 
was soon explained by the frightened In- 
terpreter. The bundle that had attracted 
the curiosity of the Doctor, was the medi- 
cine bag* of the lodge. To disturb this 
is one of the greatest outrages that can be 
inflicted upon the superstitious feelings of 
an Indian. At another time, the Doctor 
might have paid dearly for his rashness. 
As it was, at the earnest solicitations of 
the Interpreter, he resumed his seat, and 

* Every lodge in an Indian village contains what 
is called its Medicine Bag, which is hung up in the 
most conspicuous place, and regarded with the great- 
est veneration, not only by the inhabitants of that 
individual lodge, but by the whole tribe. Little is 
known of their contents, as they are seldom opened, 
and always with the greatest formalities. On these 
occasions, all possible care is taken to exclude stran- 
gers, whose presence or interference is regarded as a 
certain source of future misfortune. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 37 

the anger of the chief passed away. 
Shortly after this, another courier arrived 
to invite us to a third feast ; and taking 
our leave, we followed him. This feast 
was exactly the same as the former. Be- 
fore we had finished, invitation after invi- 
tation came pouring in upon us, until we 
had visited about ten or fifteen lodges. 
One after another, the different members 
of the party then gave out, and returned to 
the abode of the chief. 

Upon our return, Mr. E assembled 

the different warriors, and after some con- 
sultation, the following day was appointed 
for holding a council, to agree upon the 
terms of the treaty. 

When this was settled, the chief turn- 
ed and spoke a few words to the heralds.^ 

* These heralds are self-elected, and are com- 
posed of the oldest men in the village, who rim 
through the town to spread the orders of the chief. 
When no such service is required, they amuse them- 



38 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

They immediately started through the vil- 
lage^ proclaiming the time appointed for 
the council. 

While Mr. E was thus engaged^ the 

rest of the party drew round the fire, to dis- 
cuss the different events of the day. The 
bearskin, forming the inner door of the 
lodge, was slowly raised, and a female step- 
ped timidly in, and moved rapidly, and evi- 
dently with a desire to escape observation, 
into the darkest part of the lodge. Her 
whole appearance bespoke her a stranger. 
She was beautiful ; and though a timid be- 
ing, moved with the step of a queen. She 
was the wife of the Kioway Indian, and 
her dress was of a richness corresponding 
with his. A bright band of silver was 
fastened round her neck ; a small jacket 

selves by stalking round the village, yelling out ad- 
vice to the young men, with voices which may be 
heard at the distance of a mile, but which, as far as 
I was able to judge, was but little attended to. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 39 

of scarlet cloth, the spoil of some pillaged 
caravan, edged with silver lace and beads, 
was secured round her waist and breast, 
with scarlet ribands, and a long garment 
of blue cloth enveloped the rest of her 
form. Like her husband, she wore medals 
of silver upon her breast, and bracelets of 
the same upon her wrists. Her mocassins, 
also, were more finely ornamented than 
those of the Pawnee women, who were 
seated around. 

From the moment of her entrance, she 
became the object of attraction to all eyes. 
Observing this, she withdrew into one of 
the berths, and dropping in front of her a 
screen of grass matting, remained there 
for the rest of the day. 



40 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER III. 

Grand Pawnee Village. — The Council. 

The second day after our arrival was 
appointed for holding the council. It was 
a fine frosty morning. The sun rose like 
a huge ball of crimson over the low hills ; 
pouring a flood of lurid light upon the 
dancing waters of the Platte, and gemming 
with a thousand tints, the frost beads that 
glittered upon the tall withering grass of 
the prairie. 

A number of us left the lodge early in 
the morning, and strolled towards the 
banks of the Platte. A few gaunt, sinewy 
wolf-dogs were prowling about the silent 
village, in search of food. The savages 
had not yet left their lairs, except one or 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 41 

two solitary individuals, muffled in their 
robes, who at sight of us, hurried to their 
abodes to give information that the stran- 
gers were stirring. Occasionally, as we 
passed the dark funnel-like mouth of the 
dwellings, the half of a face would be seen, 
cautiously looking out, and after staring 
at us for an instant, would vanish into the 
interior to call out the rest of the inhabit- 
ants. 

We had not proceeded far, before about 
a dozen half-starved Indian wolf-dogs col- 
lected at our heels. Here they followed, 
raising their nostrils, baring their long 
white fangs, and uttering deep growls. 
Their green flashing eyes ; their long 
bristling hair ; and their tails stiffly ex- 
tended as they slowly stalked after us, 
convinced us that they waited only for the 
slightest appearance of fear on our part, 
to commence an attack. It also plainly 
showed that however welcome our appear- 

VOL. II. 5 



42 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

ance might bt to the Indians^ there were 
some members of the village who did not 
participate in the general feeling of joy. 

In spite, however, of this show of ill 
will, we continued our walk until we 
reached the Platte. Here we seated our- 
selves upon the trunk of a tree lying pros- 
trate on the bank of the river. 

In the meantime, the Indians had re- 
ceived intelligence of our movements, and 
began to edge towards the stream. The 
children came running openly and in 
droves. The old men and warriors care- 
lessly sauntered along towards the water, 
and came down upon us as if by acci- 
dent. Others more modest, crouched 
down in the long grass, creeping stealthily 
forward, until every stump concealed a 
painted form, and every bush was alive 
with curious faces. 

Nearest to us was a tall, thin Indian, 
clad in an old, worn-out buffalo-robe. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 43 

There was a ^^gallows-bird'' look about 
him, — no doubt some prodigal son, disin- 
herited by a crusty old curmudgeon fa- 
ther. He was standing with his back half 
towards us, and his face turned away, 
apparently gazing up the river ; the very 
attitude to ^^give the lie'' to his eyes, 
which were convulsively straining towards 
us, from the corner of their sockets, and 
scanning our every movement with an in- 
tense and eager curiosity. 

At length one of the party wishing to 
inquire about our horses, beckoned him 
forward. This was a signal for all the rest. 
They came trooping up from every quar- 
ter, under the pretence of giving informa- 
tion ; and upon every sign made by us, 
about twenty tongues gabbled unintelligi- 
ble answers. After spending about half 
an hour upon the banks, and finding that 
nothing was to be gained in the way of 



44 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

information, we turned off in the direc- 
tion of the village. 

It was now humming with life. The 
warriors were collected in small knots of 
five or six, and, by their vehement ges- 
tures, were apparently engaged in earnest 
conversation. The children were rolling 
and tumbling in the dirt; the squaws were 
busily engaged. Some were bringing from 
their lodges large leather sacks of shelled 
corn ; others were spreading it out to dry, 
upon the leather of their buffalo-skin tents, 
which had been stretched out upon the 
ground. Others were cleansing from it 
the decayed kernels and packing it up in 
small sacks of a whitish undressed leather, 
resembling parchment. These were then 
deposited in cache-holes* for a winter's 
store. 

* The Cache, is a large hole dug in the ground 
like a cistern. It is narrow at the top (about four 



I 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 45 

At a distance from the village^ a band 
of females were slowly wending along the 
top of one of the low prairie ridges^ to their 
daily labour in the small plantations of 
corn. These are scattered in every direc- 
tion round the village, wherever a spot 
of rich, black soil, gives promise of a 
bountiful harvest. Some of them are as 
much as eight miles distant from the 
town. 

There is a fearful uncertainty hanging 
round the lives of these females. At the 

feet in diameter) but wider as it descends, until its 
form somewhat resembles that of a jug. It will con- 
tain about an hundred bushels of corn. 

Upon leaving their villages, the Indians deposit the 
corn which is to serve for their winter's store in 
granaries of this description, and cover the apertures 
with earth, so that it is impossible, for a person un- 
acquainted with their exact position, to discover the 
entrance. The name Cache is given by the French 
traders who derive it from the word cacher (to 
conceal.) 

5* 



46 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

rising of the sun they depart to their toil;, 
often never to return. They are con- 
stantly exposed to the attacks of lurking 
foes, who steal down upon their villages, 
to cut oiT stragglers. They come and dis- 
appear with equal silence and celerity. 
Their presence is unknown, until the long 
absence of a friend, or a mutilated body, 
found sometimes after the lapse of several 
days, conveys to their friends a thrilling 
token, that the hand of the destroyer has 
been busied among them, and the hour of 
vengeance has passed. 

As we proceeded, we were again wait- 
ed upon by a committee of the dogs of the 
town. They formed in a train behind us, 
with the same expression of ill feeling that 
had been manifested by their predeces- 
sors. But this last display of rancour was 
of short duration ; for a stout, tattered In- 
dian, who looked as if his last ablution had 
been performed during his infancy, rush- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 47 

ed out from one of the lodges, and with a 
few vigorous applications of his foot 
changed the aspect of affairs. In an in- 
stant the glistening eyes of the curs sunk 
from fury to meekness ; the hair which 
bristled boldly up was sleeked quietly 
down to their backs ; the tails which had 
stood out as erect as bars of iron, were 
tucked snugly away between their legs, 
and the snarls were converted into yells. 
In short, the canine committee were un- 
mercifully beaten, and fled yelping and 
howling in every direction. 

Our attention was now called to the long, 
lean, wiery old heralds, who were stalking 
through the town, calling forth the war- 
riors, and exhorting them to prepare for 
the council. Occasionally they stopped 
to gossip with some gray-headed crony, 
who stood blinking like an owl at the en- 
trance of his dwelling. At other times 
they paused to bestow a little wholesome 



48 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

advice upon some wild urchin^ guilty of 
some breach of decorum towards their 
guests. 

Upon reaching the lodge of the chief, 
we found that active preparations had 
been made for holding the council. The 
goods and presents which had been re- 
ceived hastily into the building, were now 
piled up carefully. The lodge had been 
swept clean ; a large cheery fire was 
crackling in the centre. The rabble 
crowd of loungers and hangers-on had 
been routed ; and besides the family of the 
chief, we were the only occupants of the 
spacious building. 

At mid-day the chiefs and braves be- 
gan to assemble. They were full dressed ; 
many of the young warriors had spent the 
whole morning in preparation, and now 
presented themselves, fully ornamented 
for the meeting. 

As the hour for the opening of the coun- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 49 

cil grew nearer, the tall, muffled warriors 
poured in, in one continuous stream. They 
moved quietly to the places allotted them, 
and seating themselves in silence round 
the chief, according to their rank. There 
was no wrangling, or bustle for prece- 
dence ; each knew his station, and if per- 
chance one of them occupied the place 
of some more distinguished warrior, upon 
his appearance he immediately rose and 
resigned them his seat. 

The crowd continued flowing in until 
the lodge was filled almost to suffocation. 
As they came in, they seated themselves, 
until five or six circles were formed, one 
beyond the other, the last ranging against 
the wall of the building. In the ring near- 
est the chiefs, sat the principal braves, 
or those w^arriors whose deeds of blood 
entitled them to a high rank in the coun- 
cils of the nation. The more distant cir- 
cles were filled by such young men of the 



50 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

village as were admitted to its councils. 
The passage leading to the open air, was 
completely blocked up with a tight wedg- 
ed mass of women and children, who dared 
venture no nearer to the deliberations of 
the tribe. 

In the course of half an hour, nearly all 
the principal warriors had assembled. 
The chief then filled a large stone pipe 
and lighting it, drew a few puffs, inhaling 
the smoke into his lungs, and blowing it 
out in long blasts through his nostrils. 
He then passed it to the whites, who, 
each having inhaled a few whiffs in their 
turn, handed it to their neighbours. These 
again passed it on, until it had made the 
circuit of the whole assembly. While 
this was going on our attention was at- 
tracted by a violent commotion in the 
passage. In a moment afterwards the 
naked head and shoulders of the Wild 
Horse towered above the crowd. He 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 51 

forced his way through them, and burst 
naked into the building. Here he seated 
himself in the inner ring, leaning his back 
against one of the pillars which supported 
the roof. The chief scowled grimly at 
the disturbance caused by his entrance. 
The Wild Horse, however, was a giant, 
whose wrath was not to be courted, and 
the matter passed off in silence. After a 

short time Mr. E rose and addressed 

the council, stating the views of the United 
States, and at the same time, the condi- 
tions of the treaty. 

During the whole of the address, every 
sound was hushed into a deep and thril- 
ling silence. Not a form stirred ; but all 
sat with their eyes steadily fixed upon his 
countenance. There was not even a long- 
drawn breath to break in upon the voice 
of the speaker ; though now and then, 
some proposal, which met with peculiar 
approbation, would elicit a loud grunt of 



52 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

approval, from the deep, sonorous chests 
of the whole assemblage. 

When Mr. E had finished his ad- 
dress, the chief of the Grand Pawnees rose 
and folded his heavy buffalo-robe round 
his body. His right arm and breast were 
left bare. The other hand and lower 
part of his body, were completely hid 
by the dark folds of his shaggy mantle. 
For a few moments he stood facing Mr. 

E in silence ; then stepping forward, 

his chest seemed to swell out, — he threw 
back his head, and raised his arm, with 
one of the fingers slightly extended, as if to 
command attention. He then paused and 
gazed with a hawk eye upon the iron faces 
of his warriors. The pause and glance 
were momentary; and without moving 
the position of his arm, he commenced 
his harangue. It was short, energetic, 
and abounding with all the high-wrought 
figures of Indian oratory. As he proceed- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 53 

ed he grew more and more animated ; his 
chest rose and fell ; his finely modulated 
voice, which at first had stolen like mu- 
sic over the stillness, grew louder and 
louder, until its deep, fierce tones rang 
like thunder through the building. He 
threw his robe from his shoulders, leaving 
bare his almost convulsed frame. He fix- 
ed his eagle eye upon us ; he extended 
his bare arms towards us, he waved them 
over our heads, with a wild fury of ges- 
ticulation. Had it not been for his words 
of friendship, our fancies would have led 
us to imagine him some demon, pouring 
out the most fearful threats of vengeance. 
For about ten minutes his voice rolled 
through the lodge. Suddenly he fell from 
his loud, energetic language to the silvery, 
guttural tones natural to him, and in a short 
time finished his harangue. 

After him, his son, the second chief 
of the tribe, rose and commenced an ad- 

VOL. II. 6 



54 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

dress. While he was proceeding, a noise 
of voices arose at the extreme part of the 
lodge, near the passage. At first they 
were low and smothered ; but at last they 
broke out into loud and angry alterca- 
tion. The Wild Horse was crouching at 
the foot of one of the pillars, with his 
hands interlocked with each other, his 
arms encompassing his legs, and his body 
nearly hid by the long matted hair which 
hung over it. He was roused by the 
disturbance; but at first contented him- 
self by an occasional sharp word addressed 
to the crowd. This silenced it for a 
few moments; but at last the brawling 
voices broke out into open clamour. The 
savage started to his feet, stalked among 
them, shook his brawny arms over their 
heads, and thundered a few stern words 
in their ears. This had the effect of ma- 
gic in soothing the angry passions of the 
disputants. The voices sank into silence. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 55 

and the noise was hushed. For a few mo- 
ments he maintained his menacing attitude 
over them ; and then resuming his station 
at the foot of the pillar, the chief pro- 
ceeded in his harangue. 

When he concluded, several chiefs 
rose and addressed the party, welcom- 
ing them to their homes, with the kind- 
est expressions of hospitality. At the 
same time they expressed their entire ac- 
quiescence in the terms of the treaty. 
After them several of the braves and war- 
riors rose, and spoke to the same effect. 
When they had concluded, the follow- 
ing day was appointed for signing the 
treaty. The pipe was again passed round, 
and the council breaking up, the warriors 
left the lodge. 

During the whole of the deliberation, 
which lasted about six hours, the inte- 
rior of the building was excessively hot. 
The instant it was cleared, we strolled 



56 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

out into the open prairie. A large 
crowd was gathered at a distance. We 
went towards it^ and found it assembled 
to witness the slaughter of one of our 
oxen — the destined victim for the rati- 
fication of the treaty. The hunter who 
was to enact the part of butcher, had 
loaded his rifle, and now moved forward. 
The crowd spread off on each side, leav- 
ing the animal exposed to view. The 
beast, then for the first time seemed to 
have a suspicion of the fate that awaited 
him,, raised his head, and gazed steadily 
at his butcher. The hunter took a few 
steps— the gun was to his cheek — the trig- 
ger clicked — we heard the bullet strike — 
the ox reared his heavy frame, and fell for- 
ward on the gi^ound; but the ball had 
merely fractui^d the skull without being 
fatal. By degrees the animal raised him- 
self from the ground upon his haunches » 
His head hung heavily forward^ and a 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 57 

thin streak of blood trickled down from 
the bullet hole in his forehead. Still he 
feebly supported his form upon his fore 
feet. His huge body rocked to and fro in 
the last extremity of anguish, and deep 
bellowings burst from his heaving lungs, 
resembling the tortured cries of a human 
sufferer. A second time the hunter ad- 
vanced and fired; the ball was fatal; it 
crushed through the bone of the skull, 
and the beast fell forward with a deep 
groan. The crowd, raising a loud cry 
of exultation and delight, closed round 
him. The exhibition was sickening; we 
turned away and left the Indian butchers 
to their work. 



6* 



58 INDIAN SKETCHES, 



CHAPTER IV. 

Receiving Horses. — Departure from Grand 
Pawnees. — Crossing the Platte. — The lotan's 
Wife, 

The morning at length arrived upon 
which we were to take our leave of the 
Grand Pawnees, and shape our course for 
the village of the Pawnee Republicans. 
It is situated upon the Loup fork of the 
Platte river, about twenty miles distant. 

The couriers appointed to carry the 
tidings of our approach to the nation, had 
left the village the night before. We 
were now drawn out in the area in front 
of the lodge, awaiting the movements of 
the soldiers who were scattered around. 



INDIAN SKETCHES- 59 

some driving in, and others searching- 
for, the horses, on the small islands of the 
Platte. 

The chief of the Pawnee Republican 
village, after lingering with us till the last 
moment, started forward across the river. 
In the dim distance we could perceive 
his flake-white horse skimming like a 
bird over the crests of the hills. Now 
he disappeared in their deep, undulating 
hollows, now he again flashed for an in- 
stant on the eye as he passed over the 
brow of some more distant ridge. He was 
pushing forward to reach his village, and 
marshal his warriors. 

In about half an hour, the soldiers re- 
turned, driving in the horses, and com- 
menced saddling them for the march. 

In the meantime, those Indians v/ho 
had promised horses on the first day 
of our meeting, brought them up. A 
young Indian first came forward, and led 



60 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

up a bright, jet-black mare — after him 
followed another, holding in his hand a 
long buffalo tug, or halter, which restrain- 
ed the wild motions of a two years^ old 
colt. His colour was snowy white, here 
and there broken with spots of brown. 
He had been caught wild from the prai- 
ries but a few weeks before. He was a 
slave, but he had never been mounted — 
his back had never bent to a burden. 
They led him up in his own native wild- 
ness — his tail stood out — his ears were 
pricked up — his eyes starting — his nos- 
trils expanded — and every hair of his long 
mane seemed almost erect with an unde- 
iinable feeling of terror. At one moment 
he dashed swiftly around at the full stretch 
of the long tug which secured him — then 
pausing, and shaking his long mane over 
his head, he fixed the gaze of his almost 
bursting eyes upon his captor. Then rais- 
ing his head, and casting a long, lingering, 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 61 

and almost despairing gaze upon the hills 
of the prairie^ which till then had been 
his home^ he made a desperate leap for- 
ward, dragging to the ground the Indian 
who held the end of his halter. Others, 
however, rushed to his assistance, and held 
him in. The crowd then attempted to close 
round him, but he reared upon his hind 
legs, and kept them at bay, with rapid and 
powerful blows of his fore feet. At length 
a young Indian who was standing near, 
threw off his robe and crept cautiously to- 
wards the animal from behind. With a 
sudden leap he bounded upon his back, 
and seized the tug, which was secured in 
his mouth. Before this, the efforts of the 
animal had been violent; but when he felt 
the burden upon his back — when he felt 
the curbing hand of his rider^ — he sent 
up a shrill and almost frantic scream — he 
bounded in the air like a wild cat — he 
reared, he plunged, but in vain 5 his rider 



62 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

was a master hand, and retained his seat 
as unmoved as if he had constituted part 
of the animal itself. He curbed him in — he 
lashed him with his heavy whip, until he 
crouched like a dog upon the prairie. His 
spirit was crushed; and the last spark of 
freedom was extinguished. Shortly after, 
one of the hunters came up and tied a 
pack upon his back. He made no resist- 
ance, and they led him off with the rest, 
to finish his days in drudgery and toil. 

In the meantime the other Indians 
led up their horses. It was evident that 
many of them had made their promises in 
the excitement of the moment. They were 
now fulfilling them as matters of con- 
science, not of inclination ; and their hor- 
ses were valuable in proportion. One was 
lame, another blind ; one had large patches 
of skin galled upon his back, and the ears 
of another were cropped close to his head. 
In fine it was evident that they had select- 



INDIA.N SKETCHES. 63 

ed the very worst of their animals for the 
fulfihnent of their promises. Our stud 
was a collection of the maimed, the halt, 
and the blind. One after another they came 
lingering up, until one Indian alone lagged 
behind. The chief inquired for him, and 
was told that he had gone out to search 
for his animal. Ten minutes elapsed. At 
last there was a movement in the crowd, 
and a sly-looking, old white-headed Indian 
made his way through it. In his hand 
he held the end of a long buffalo tug: the 
other was secured to his horse. Such a 
horse ! he was blind of both eyes ; his tail 
had been cut oiF short to his rump ; his 
ribs stood out in bold relief; and his very 
joints creaked, as he walked stiffly after 
his leader. As for his age there was no 
mode of telling it, as his teeth had long 
since dropped out ; but it must have been 
incalculable. 

There was a smothered giggling among 



64 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the women^ and a downright squall of 
laughter among the children, as the hoi^e 
stalked forwards towards its future owner. 

The old Indian moved towards Mr. E , 

and without raising his head placed the 
end of the halter in the hand of one of the 
soldiers. There was a deal of mischief in 
his look, and I could hear a smothered 
chuckle rattling beneath the folds of his 
robe, as he drew it up over his face, and 
disappeared among the crowd. 

We now mounted and started at a rapid 
pace for the banks of the river. The 
heavy lumbering wagons followed more 
slowly, and a train of about half the vil- 
lage brought up the rear. 

Upon reaching the banks we found that 
the Otoes were already on their way 
through the river. Some were wading 
up to their arm-pits; others, had missed 
the ford, and were swept down the 
stream, holding their blankets high over 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 65 

their heads to keep them dry, as •they 
struggled across the rushing current. 
Others, mounted on horses which they 
had trafficked for with the Pawnees, were 
dashing and spattering through the shal- 
low parts of the river, or clinging to the 
manes of their steeds, as they ploughed 
their way through the deep current. 

The river at this place was nearly two 
miles broad, here and there interspersed 
with small islands. The depth was ever 
varying; in some places it was but a few 
inches, in others it must have been from 
ten to twenty feet. At one moment, the 
water scarce reached the fetlocks of your 
hoi^e — the next step sent him floundering 
up to the holsters. 

i\fter reaching the banks of the river, 
a short consultation was held. The heavy 
l)aggage wagons were then sent forward, 
with two Indians to guide them over the 
ford. After them followed the dearborn 

VOL. II. 7 



66 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

wagons. One was driven by an old sol- 
dier, who kept steadily in the wake of 
the teams. Two mules drew the other. 
They were driven by our half- French, 
half-devil Joe, who was seated upon the 
dash-board of the wagon, swearing in 
broken English, sometimes at the ani- 
mals, and at others, at the slow pace of 
the oxen which dragged the wagons in ^ 
front. For some time, he followed stea- 
dily in their train; but at length his pa- 
tience became exhausted, and he deter- 
mined to drive forward at all hazards. 
He plied his whip upon the flanks of the 
mules. At the first application they stop- 
ped short — at the second they kicked 
up — but at the third they commenced 
moving forward — for they had learnt by 
long experience, that the patience and 
perseverance of their driver in the appli- 
cation of the lash, were sufficient to over- 
come even their own almost inexhaustible 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 67 

fund of obstinacy^ and ill nature. Half a 
dozen steps brought the water up to the 
bottom of the wagon. The mules doubt- 
ed; but the driver whipped on. Another 
half a dozen steps^ and the water gushed 
over the sides into the wagon — still the 
lash was busy. The next moment the 
beasts were swimming, with only the tips 
of their noses and ears, visible above the 
surface. The wagon had disappeared be- 
neath the water, and the head of the dri- 
ver, shaded by a broad-brimmed hat, went 
skimming along the surface, pouring out a 
steady stream of French and English oaths, 
jumbled into one common mass. Occa- 
sionally an arm was flourished above the 
water, inflicting a little chastisement upon 
the nose and ears of the animals, which 
caused them to dip under the water, with 
a prodigious increase of snorting, but not 
much acceleration of speed. At length, 
however, the deep water was passed, and 



68 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

after drifting about a hundred yards down 
the river^ the wagon gradually rose above 
the surface^ and travelled slowly up the 
opposite bank. 

The rest of the party then commenced 
their march in Indian file across the ford-^ 
keeping in a line with a tall Indian, who 
led the way. Most of the party followed 
the guide; but some of our horses were 
restive, and missing the ford, drifted us a 
short distance down the stream, where we 
reached a small island, and scrambling 
up its bank, galloped across to the oppo- 
site side. 

Here we found a wife of the lotan 
chief, standing on the edge of the water. 
She had accompanied him from his vil- 
lage. She was young, tall, and fine- 
ly formed; her face, next to that of 
the wife of the Kioway Indian, was the 
most beautiful we had met with. Her 
hair was parted across her forehead^ 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 69 

and hung down upon her shoulders. A 
small jacket of blue cloth, was fastened 
round her shoulders and breast, and a 
mantle of the same, was wrapped around 
her body. They had been presented 
to her by the commissioner, but a few 
days before. She was standing upon a 
small sand-bar, and the water was gur- 
gling around her feet; a short distance 
in front of her, a deep channel was rushing 
with a powerful current. She looked at 
the water, and then at her dress, with an 
expression of almost childish sorrow, for, 
to swim the river would ruin her finery. 
The Indians had all reached the opposite 
bank, and were waiting for the rest to 
come up, so that no assistance could be 
expected from them. 

Just then the hunters dashed by her, 

into the deep channel, but did not even 

notice her. I was the last of the party, 

and she knew it; for though we could 

7* 



7Q INDIAN SKETCHES. 

not speak the same language, there was 
an imploring expression in her large dark 
eye as she fixed it upon me, that told 
every thing. Still I hesitated : I thought 
of pushing on^ there was a powerful strug- 
gle between selfishness and a desire to as- 
sist her; she saw it, and speaking a few- 
words in her own silvery tongue, she at 
the same time pointed to her new dress. 

There was something so sorrowful in the 
tone and gesture, that I could not resist it. 
I took my rifle in my left hand, and reach- 
ing out my right, she seized it ; she placed 
her foot on mine, and, with a sudden bound, 
was upon the back of my horse, stooping 
behind me, with her arms round my neck. 
The horse had so long been accustomed to 
have his own way in every thing, that he 
grew very indignant at this new imposi- 
tion — but a lunge of the spurs subdued 
his wrath, and he bounded forward into 
the rushing river. He was a powerful 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 71 

animal; and took to the water like a sea- 
fowl. The river rushed and roared around 
us, and we could feel the strong nervous 
quivering of his limbs, as he bore up against 
it. But occasionally as he went snorting 
along, he cast back spiteful glances at his 
riders. I expected mischief, and it came 
to pass. We felt his hoofs touch the bot- 
tom — three leaps — he was up the bank 
— his heels flew in the air — the arms of 
the squaw were jerked violently from my 
neck, and I saw her describing a somerset 
through the air ; she landed upon her feet 
and received no injury. The Indians 
raised a shout of laughter, and the horse, 
satisfied with being relieved from his ex- 
tra burden, jogged quietly on towards 
the Republican village. 



72 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER V. 

Journey to the Republican Village, and Re- 
ception. 

In about half an hour, our whole troop 
were safely landed on the bank of the 
Platte, opposite the town of the Grand 
Pawnees. In the faint distance we could 
perceive the inhabitants, still standing 
upon the tops of the lodges, and watching 
our movements. A few who had lingered 
in our train, and crossed the river with 
us, now prepared to return. After sun- 
ning themselves for a short time on the 
dry grass, to take off the chill they had 
received in swimming across the cold 
current, they again plunged into the 
river. Their dark heads and bodies, were 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 73 

seen scattered over its whole breadth ; 
until shut out from our view by one of the 
hills of the prairie. 

The distance between the Grand Paw- 
nee^ and the Pawnee Republican Village^ 
is about twenty miles. The last is situated 
upon what is called the Loup Fork of the 
Platte rivei> and is about the same in size, 
as that of the Grand Pawnees* The dif- 
ferent portions of the tribe who live upon 
this river^ were formerly united. In the 
course of time, however, as their numbere 
increased, the difficulty of obtaining tim- 
ber for fuel and building, also increased, 
until at last they divided into four distinct 
bands, each under a separate chief. The 
first seated itself upon the Republican Fork 
of the Platte, and is known by the name of 
the Grand Pawnee tribe. The other three 
located themselves upon the Loup Fork 
of the same river, and are distinguished by 
the names of the Republican Pawnees, the 



74 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Tappaye Pawnees^ and the Pawnee Loups. 
They are altogether distinct from the Paw- 
nee Picks, and speak not the same tongue. 
During our stay among the Grand Paw- 
nees, we found a Pawnee Pick residing 
among them, but his language was unintel- 
ligible to the whole nation, with the ex- 
ception of one Indian, who had resided 
among his people. 

Our journey now lay across the prairie. 
An advance guard of about twenty Paw- 
nees took the lead, conducting a number of 
loaded mules. Sometimes they were only 
ten or fifteen rods ahead, and then would 
push forward until we nearly lost sight of 
them. Behind us straggled our little band 
of Otoes; all on foot, except the wife of the 
lotan chief. She had contrived by her 
winning arts, to soften the flinty nature of 
the old iron-sided soldier who drove one 
of the wagons, so as to get a seat upon a 
pile of bear-skins, composing our bedding. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 75 

Here she exerted herself, to maintain her 
hold in the good will of the veteran Jehu, 
by narrating to him by gestures, an account 
of her passage over the Platte. 

The soldier listened to her patiently, 
and occasionally condescended to smile, 
when by her gesticulation, the story ap- 
peared to warrant it the most. At length 
one of his comrades rode up and asked: 

" What are you and the wife of lotan 
laughing at. Mack ?^^ 

^^ Curse me if I know,'' retorted the 
other. ^^The squaw keeps up such a 
bloody cackling, I suppose there must be 
some joke, and so I laughed.'' 

After travelling a few hours over the 
prairie, we passed a single tree. It stood 
like a solitary sentinel, to guard the waters 
of a small spring, which gushed out at its 
foot ; the source of the only brook, which 
had crossed our path, during the whole 
route. The tree was an aged one ; short. 



7b INDIAN SKETCHES. 

and sturdy. If aught might be judged 
from its gnarled and fantastically twisted 
limbS;, it had maintained its station for 
centuries, contending against the fierce 
storms and tornados, which had swept the 
prairie. We felt a kind of companionship 
with this " veteran of the storms ;'' and as 
if by common consent, the party, both In- 
dians and whites, came to a halt, to rest 
under its branches, and drink of the water 
which gurgled along at its roots. 

In a quarter of an hour we again pushed 
forward. After an hour more of laborious 
travel, through long waving grass, we 
descried large droves of horses, with up- 
lifted heads and erect manes, gazing at us 
from the different eminences. We per- 
ceived also the flying forms of mounted 
Indians, in the distance, and groups of 
others clad in flowing robes, and standing 
like statues upon the heights. This show- 
ed us that the town was not distant, and 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 77 

that its warriors were on the watch for our 
coming. Intervening hills, however, still 
shut it out from our sight. As we pro- 
ceeded, the groups disappeared one after 
another, and as we mounted the eminences 
where they had stood, we could perceive 
them, dashing forward, until they sank be- 
hind the brow of a high ridge, which still 
hid the town. 

In half an hour, we ascended this ridge, 
and halted upon its top. A large plain, of 
about two miles in extent, lay at its foot, 
It was bounded by the waters of the 
Loup Fork, glittering through the ver- 
dant foliage which fringed its borders. 
On the opposite side of the river, was a 
high bluff, on which was situated the dingy 
lodges of the Republican village. 

The plain in front of us, was alive with 
Indians. We had come upon them be- 
fore they were prepared for our reception. 
Large troops were scouring the plain, ap- 
parently without an object. Single In- 

VOL. II. 8 



78 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

dians were galloping in different direc- 
tions ; some up the banks of the river, and 
others towards the village. The tall form 
of the chief, mounted on his white horse; 
was seen dashing to and fro among the 
bands, giving his orders, and assigning to 
all their several stations. In a few mo- 
ments, a torrent of warriors poured down 
the steep bank, which led from the village. 
They plunged into the river, forced a 
foaming path through its water, broke 
their way through the thicket on its brink, 
and bounded over the plain, to the spot 
where the chief awaited their coming. A 
second confusion now seemed to take 
place, and all the different squads of horse- 
men congregated together, as if await- 
ing directions. This continued for a short 
time. The chief then detached himself 
from the crowd and galloped a few yards 
in front, and calling out a single warrior 
sent him towards us. The whole scene 
at our feet, was ike the distant perspec- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 79 

tive of a panorama. The approaching 
warrior seemed at first to crawl along at a 
snaiFs pace. But when he drew nearer^ 
we could hear the heavy tramp of his 
horse's hoofs^ and see that his speed was 
furious. 

He plied the lash^ and kept at full 
stretchy until within a few paces of us. 
Then by a powerful effort^ the horse was 
drawn almost erect in the air^ and stopped 
in his mad career^ as suddenly as if con- 
verted into stone. His rider sprang from 
him^ and advanced to the Interpreter. 
He bore a request from the chiefj, that 
the party would descend into the plain^ 
where his warriors could receive them in 
better style. 

The request was obeyed^ and in about 
twenty minutes^ upon receiving a second 
message from the chief, we drew up to 
await the coming of his warriors. 

The leader, who still maintained his 
stand in front of the masS; then waved his 



80 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

arm. At this motion the band separated. 
A large body remained stationary, while 
an equal number galloped several hun- 
dred yards^ to the right and left of the 
main division, and halted with their horses 
heading towards the party. 

For a short time the chief stood watch- 
ing the actions of both. It was not until 
he saw that every man was at his post, 
and every form as unmoved as stone, 
that he gave the signal. Then raising his 
arm, he wheeled his horse round, and 
sent up a long quavering whoop. Be- 
fore it died away, a thousand throats 
had echoed back its ringing tones, and a 
thousand voices lent their aid in raising a 
cry, which almost shook the prairie. 
Although accustomed to its sound, and 
although we knew, that there was not a 
hand in that band, but would be extended 
towards us in friendship, yet its wild 
fierceness fairly caused us to shiver. At 
the sam.e time the impulse was given to 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 81 

the horses. At first their movements 
were regular, but before a hundred yards 
had been passed, each man sent up his 
shrillest cry, urged his steed forward to 
the utmost stretch of his speed, and the 
whole band came dashing forward in wild 
confusion. At the distance of about a 
hundred yards in front of us, the three 
divisions met, but for a moment ; then 
separating, the torrent whirled in a circle 
round us at the same mad gait. Through 
the whole mass, we could perceive the pow- 
erful form of the chief. He was urging his 
steed round in the innermost circle ; and 
above the loud din of whoops and yells, 
we could hear the tones of his trumpet 
voice, cheering his warriors onward in 
their wild course. 

After this had continued for a short 
time, he made another signal, and one after 
another the whole band checked their 
horses, and became motionless. Then dis- 
mounting, a great number of them loosed 
8* 



82 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the tugs from their beasts, and cast them 
loose to career at will over the prairie. 
The chiefs, however, and the principal 
men of the nation, still remained on horse- 
back to escort the party into the village. 

When the band had seated themselves 
around, the same ceremony of presenting 
horses was repeated, which had taken 
place at the arrival of the party at the 
village of the Grand Pawnees. 

About the same number were given as 
on the preceding occasion. As before, 
the old men who had nothing to offer, 
made up for it in speeches, exhorting 
others to munificence. They possessed 
in a high degree that generosity which is 
indulged at the expense of one's neigh- 
bours, and gains great applause from the 
world. 

When this ceremony was finished, the 
circle opened, and our troop again mount- 
ing, prepared for their journey to the vil- 
lage. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 83 



CHAPTER VI. 

Indian Mischief. — Crossing the Loup Fork of 
the Platte. — Entrance in the Republican 
Village. 

No sooner had the chief signified by 
his movements his intention that the party 
should set out, than the dark ring round 
us was broken, and the whole mass of 
Indians flooded the prairie — pouring in 
the direction of their village. It was a 
scene of vast confusion. The horses 
which had been cast loose by their own- 
ers, careered wildly around the crowd. 
The mounted horsemen dashed about with 
a mad fury almost equal to that of the 
masterless beasts. If any thing could give 
to an inexperienced person an idea of a 
field of battle, where man and horse are 



84 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

alike urged on by a reckless disregard of 
life;, it is a scene like this. 

There was a striking contrast between 
the conduct of the older and more influen- 
tial chiefs, and that of the younger war- 
riors. The first rode gravely by the side 
of the party. There was something stern, 
and even savage, in the fixed repose of 
their painted faces. 

Every forehead was wrinkled with the 
thousand lines that seam an Indian brow ; 
and, but for the tell-tale eyes which glit- 
tered in their deep-sunk sockets with a 
startling brilliancy, you would not have 
known that boiling blood, and hearts which 
could nourish passions like fire, were 
beating in the bosoms of those iron war- 
riors. 

These were the chiefs and older men 
of the tribe; the young men rode at a 
distance. There was nothing to restrain 
them; they took no part in the councils. 
Their chiefs had ordered them to receive 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 85 

the party as friends, and they had obeyed 
their orders. They knew that a trea- 
ty of peace was to be made with the 
whites. They knew that in future the 
axe and scalping knife were to lie idle, 
and that war was to be at an end. But they 
did not know, that they were thus remov- 
ing the only barrier which insured their 
own safety, and were forming the first 
link of the chain, which always has ended, 
and always will end in fetters to the free 
spirit of the Indian. 

During the whole way from the plain to 
the bank of the river, the party kept com- 
pactly together. At length, however, one 
of the soldiers, mounted upon a powerful 
horse, gradually edged away, until he was 
about fifty yards distant from the main 
body. It was done without thought, and 
probably for the sake of gaining space that 
his horse might move more freely. He 
had reached some distance, and gained 
a pointy beyond the observation of the 



86 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

chief. Here the spirit of waggery and mis- 
chief, which flourishes with rich growth 
in the bosom of a young Indian, began to 
display itself in the various pranks which 
they attempted to play upon him. Fre- 
quently they would flit their horses across 
his path, and in passing, dashed their 
heavy robes across the eyes of the animal 
causing him to rear, and plunge. This was 
a source of great annoyance to the rider, 
who was not the best horseman in the 
world, and had been mounted that day 
more for the sake of show, than for any 
desire which he had for the station. 
He did well enough as long as his 
steed travelled at a walk. He was most 
sorely puzzled when his speed was ac- 
celerated, and completely driven to his 
wit's end, when the horse grew restive 
under the annoyances of the Indians. 
They, however, always took especial care 
to be quick in their movements, and keep 
beyond the reach of his brawny arm ; for 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 87 

there was something in the grave, worried 
features, and giant form of tlie veteran, 
which spoke a man not to be trifled with. 
For some time this continued, and he bore 
it with exemplary patience. At last a 
little, old wiery Indian, half covered with 
a bufliilo robe, which from long use re- 
tained but little of its woolly covering, 
determined to come in for his share of 
the sport. He was mounted upon a little 
horse, of as lean and sinewy a make as 
himself, with an eye as fiery as a coal. 
He had no hair upon his tail, but at the 
successful accomplishment of any of his 
mischievous feats, he wagged the naked 
stump with an expression of keen satisfac- 
tion and relish. 

At first the old fellow contented himself 
by whirling his beast round and round the 
powerful horse, which bore the veteran ; 
and so near as almost to touch him at every 
circuit. The soldier did not appear to 
relish this, but still took no active measure 



88 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

in the defensive. Finding that this was 
borne with patience, the old fellow grew 
bolder. In making one of his circuits, he 
ran his steed violently against the flank of 
the horse which bore the soldier, casting 
the rider from his precarious seat, almost 
on the neck of his beast, and causing a 
furious discharge of the heels of the ag- 
grieved animal. At last the old Indian 
came to still closer quarters, and galloped 
full tilt against the horse, while a loud 
laugh was raised among the young Indians. 
The soldier recovered his seat, but began 
to lose his temper, and when the old man 
repeated his manoeuvre he became down- 
right angry. The most of the Indians saw 
that there was mischief in his eye, and 
drew off. The old man, however, was too 
much delighted with the success of his 
pranks to think of stopping. In the mean- 
time the soldier made preparation to re- 
taliate. The horse upon which he was 
mounted was of a very large size. He 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 89 

had relished as little as his rider, the rigs 
that his tormentors had run upon him. 
The soldier knew this, and acted accord- 
ingly. As the Indian came again at full 
sweep, to run aboard of him, he suddenly 
drew in the powerful curb bridle, with a 
strong jerk, and at the same time buried 
his spurs in the flanks of his horse. The 
animal planted his fore feet into the sod, 
and his heels were discharged from be- 
hind as if thrown from a catapult. They 
came in contact with the ribs of his oppo- 
nent's horse, at the moment that he was 
about to close with him. The nag was 
driven to the distance of several yards, 
and the rider hurled from his back, and 
sent rolling in the grass. 

Though the Indians had relished the 
pranks played by their comrade, their 
enjoyment of the retaliation was greater; 
and they hooted, and jeered him, not so 
much for his breach of hospitality as for 
his want of success. To get rid of them, 

VOL. II. 9 



90 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

he plied the lash upon his little steed, and 
together they went scampering to the vil- 
lage. The soldier in the meantime, taking 
advantage of the diversion in his favour, 
returned to the party. 

A short time only elapsed, hefore we 
were at the brink of the river. Here the 
chief led the way across the shoalest ford- 
ing place. The rest of the Indians, how- 
ever, regardless of the depth, plunged in, 
and in a few moments, its whole surface 
was black with them. 

It was a scene of great hubbub and con- 
fusion. Some were mounted upon power- 
ful, and sinewy horses, which sped through 
the water like sea-birds. Others flounder- 
ed, half drowning through the deep chan- 
nel, frightening the more timid by their 
snorting and splashing. Some of the In- 
dians threw themselves from their steeds, 
and boldly stemmed the current, half swim- 
ming, and half wading; while the reliev- 
ed horses, scattering in every direction. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 91 

ploughed their way through the bubbling 
stream, and made for the nearest land. 
The baggage wagons toiled slowly along 
in the rear, keeping closely upon the trail 
of the chief. 

After some time the whole party reach- 
ed the opposite shore, at the foot of the 
high bluff, upon which stood the Repub- 
lican village. The bank was steep, and 
almost precipitous. There was a pause of 
some length, before the arduous task of 
dragging the heavy vehicles up the hill, 
was imposed upon the jaded oxen. At 
length, however, a string of twelve were 
fastened before a single wagon, and united 
their strength to draw it up. The Indians 
stood by, with looks of wondering curio- 
sity ; but when they saw the lash inflicted, 
and the nervous efforts of the beasts, they 
shrank back with a feeling of fear, lest 
they should turn upon their persecutors. 
Even the older warriors showed signs of 
dread, and the children scampered iu un- 



92 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

disguised terror up the steep pathway. 
They paused^ however^ upon the top of 
the bluff, where they deemed that they 
might gaze in safety, upon the movements 
of their guests. After a sound drubbings 
and much swearing on the part of the 
drivers;, the jaded animals forced the wa- 
gons up the hill, and slowly proceeded 
through the village. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 93 



CHAPTER VII. 

Indian Females and Feasts. 

Many of the inhabitants of this town 
had been present at our arrival at the 
Grand Pawnee village, and to them the 
novelty of our appearance was over. To 
the rest, however, more particularly the 
women and children, all was new, and 
our day of entering into the town, was one 
of jubilee. We found the pathway lined 
with women and children, and the spaces 
between the lodges, crowded with them. 
Here and there were knots of wild-looking 
boys, with their bows and arrows tuck- 
ed under their arms, staring with open 
mouths, upon the travelling lodges as they 
termed our heavy wagons. Groups too of 
females — the married women with troops of 
9* 



94 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

children — some on their backs and others 
at their heels, crowded round. Young 
and beautiful girls, also, wild as deer, 
were gazing at us with deep curiosity, 
but maintained a timid distance. 

The most dauntless of the crowd, were 
two or three old crones, squalid and dirty 
in the extreme, and who, if aught might 
be judged from their looks, were the oldest 
women that ever lived. Every thing was 
withered about them, but their tongues, 
which still flourished with the vigour of 
former years. They were like racers; 
they had run against time, and gained the 
heat. Each of these beldames singled out 
her victim, from among the members of our 
party, and exerted herself to the utmost 
to render his situation agreeable, by din- 
ning his ears with her garrulity. 

Another worthy of this class, had been 
entrusted with the care of about a dozen 
children of all ages and sexes. These she 
had ranged upon the dome-like top of one 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 95 

of the lodges to see the spectacle^ as we 
passed by. She stood in front of her 
elfish brood, keeping at bay by the violent 
exertions of both tongue and talons, the 
crowd, who, in their anxiety to obtain a 
view, were attempting to invade her sanc- 
tuary. 

The persons who had placed their little 
goblin young ones in her charge, un- 
derstood well her nature. Her tongue 
knew no rest. At one moment it was 
busy in bestowing a shower of wholesome 
advice, upon some refractory little urchin, 
whose curiosity would not permit him to 
sit easy; and at another it was waging a 
wordy war with the passers by. She 
fluttered, and ruffled round her bevy, with 
all the peevish irritability of an old wet- 
nurse hen, placed in charge of a family of 
graceless young ducks, who need all her 
advice and attention, to keep them from 
danger. 

After winding our way through the 



96 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

town, we at length came to the lodge of 
Blue Coat,^ the chief of this village. He 
had nothing of the stern coldness of the 
leader of the Grand Pawnees. He at- 
tended personally and assiduously to our 
comfort — assisting even in unloading^ and 
bringing in our baggage. When this was 
finished, he seated himself and opened 
a conversation, through the interpreter. 
There was an intelligence in his remarks, 
and an ease in his manners, which almost 
made his guests forget they were convers- 
ing with a wild, untutored savage. 

It was not long before the lodge became 
crowded. The old warriors, moved with 
a hushed step, across the building, and 

* The name of Blue Coat, is given to the chief of 
the Repubhcan Pawnees on account of his wearing 
a blue camblet coat. He is proud of the title and 
prefers it to his Indian one. He is much more 
refined in his manners and ideas than the rest of his 
nation, and is considered by the traders, and his own 
people, the very beau ideal of an Indian warrior. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 97 

listened, to our conversation. Occasion- 
ally, some distinguished brave stalked in. 
There was a great difference between his 
manners, and those of the less noted war- 
riors. The latter, stole quietly into the 
lodge, taking their stations in some remote 
and retired nook, as if they entertained a 
doubt of their privilege of entry. But as 
to the former, the bold and lofty carriage ; 
the swelling chest; the uplifted head; 
the slightly expanded nostril; the keen 
searching eye, which flashed daringly 
around, showed him to be one who owned 
no ruler, and who knew that none in 
that assembly, would dare dispute his 
will. He would take his seat in the 
most conspicuous part of the lodge, and 
gaze calmly, and silently upon the stran- 
gers. 

It was not long before messengers came 
from different lodges, inviting us to feasts, 
which had been prepared in honour of our 



98 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

arrival. We had learned by this time, 
that there was no escape from the invita- 
tions of an Indian host, so we followed the 
guide, who led us to the dwelling of the 
second chief. 

We found him seated upon a small 
leather mat. He was a fat, oily fellow, 
with a jolly, good-natured face. Still 
its expression was tempered by that gra- 
vity, which, from long habit, has become 
almost natural to the race, and proverbial 
among the whites. 

Around him were lounging about a 
dozen Indians. Some, reclining with their 
backs against the pillars supporting the 
roof, ^with their eyes half closed, were 
smoking their stone pipes. Some were 
lying half asleep upon the clay floor, with 
their feet within a few inches of the fire ; 
and others were keeping up a sleepy 
song. 

At a short distance from the fire, half a 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 99 

dozen squaws were pounding corn, in 
large mortars,* and chattering vociferous- 
ly at the same time. In the farther part 
of the building, about a dozen naked chil- 
dren, with faces almost hid by their bushy, 
tangled hair, were rolling and wrestling 
upon the floor, occasionally causing the 
lodge to echo to their childish glee. In 
the back ground, we could perceive some 
half a dozen shaggy, thievish-looking wolf- 
dogs, skulking among the hides and bun- 
dles, in search of food, and gliding about 
with the air of dogs, who knew that they 
had no business there. 

* The mortar is in universal use among the un- 
civilized tribes, answering the purpose of a mill. 
The hollow is formed, by kindling a fire upon the 
top of a block of wood, into which it gradually sinks 
itself, until it forms a sort of bowl. The cavity is 
then cleansed from the coal-black, and is fit for use. 

These mortars are generally a foot in diameter, 
and about eight inches deep. Corn is pulverised in 
them, by using a billet of wood as a pestle. 



100 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Upon our entering, the lounging Indians 
roused themselves from the floor ; the 
smokers woke from their reveries, and the 
dogs slunk out of sight. The women and 
children, however, went on as before, the 
former pounding and chattering, and the 
latter frolicking over the floor. When 
we had seated ourselves, a large bowl of 
boiled buffalo flesh was placed before us, 
and signs made for us to fall to. The 
chief himself acted as master of ceremo- 
nies. He thrust his hands into the bowl, 
and turned over and over the heap of 
smoking meat, selecting the best morsels, 
and welcoming us with warmest expres- 
sions of friendship. Several times, appear- 
ing to be annoyed by the noise and cla- 
mour of his wives, he turned round, and 
let out a volley of angry words, which, 
however, they treated with no attention. 
There is but little doubt that he was a 
hen-pecked husband, for with all his jovial 
appearance, there was a cowering look 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 101 

about ills eye, when he met the vinegar 
glance of one or two of his oldest wives. 

Before we had finished with him, half a 
dozen different messengers had assembled 
in the lodge, waiting for us to follow them 
to the abode of some of the other chiefs. It 
is customary for the guest, when he is un- 
able to dispose of the whole provision 
placed before him, to send what is left to 
his own quarters. The duty of carrying it, 
is generally entrusted to one of the junior 
members of the family, who when depart- 
ing upon his errand, receives a particular 
caution from the squaws to be careful and 
brhig back the bowl. 

It was near sunset when we finished our 
visits. We had gone from lodge to lodge, 
followed by a crowd of men, women, and 
children, until we had visited nearly half 
the dwellings in the village. Our recep- 
tions were different, according to the dis- 
positions of our hosts. Some were stern 
and solemn in their demeanour, and others 

VOL. II. 10 



102 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

as sociable, and even lively as the whites. 
In some of the lodges, the females were of 
an acid temper, and to these our presence 
was not as agreeable as we could have wish- 
ed. They made no hesitation in speaking 
their minds to the half-breed interpreter, 
who in turn, with iron gravity, translated 
the whole to us, without abating an epithet, 
or softening a single peppery expression. 

When we emerged, we found a small 
crowd collected in front, which drew back 
as we appeared. Curious as they were, 
there was nothing troublesome or forward 
in their mode of gratifying their curiosity. 
The children followed at a distance. The 
older Indians would mark the route which 
we must take, and then hurrying on, 
would seat themselves in some situation, 
where the whole party must pass in review 
before them. There was none of the 
prying, meddling spirit which is shown 
among the whites. 

We had scarcely reached the lodge of 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 103 

the chief, and were congratulating our- 
selves that the eating part of the business 
was terminated^ when the heavy bear-skin 
which hung over the mouth, was flapped 
back, and a boy came across to the place 
where the Interpreter was sitting. This 
immediately caused us to suspect that 
another feast was on foot, and we were 
making for the door, when we were ar- 
rested by the Interpreter, who was too 
much of an Indian not to relish these 
eating parties. He shouted out, that 
three of us had been invited to attend at 
the lodge of one of the older warriors, who 
had prepared something which he thought 
w^ould be more acceptable than buffalo 
flesh and corn. Although but little in- 
clined to attempt any thing in the way of 
eating, still we determined to accompany 
him, for we were curious to see what new 
article of food, could be raked up in the 
village, where every soul seemed to live 
on buffalo flesh and corn. 



104 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Following our guide, therefore, after a 
dark walk we reached the place of invi- 
tation. 

The interior of the lodge was illu- 
mined by the light of a bright fire, burn- 
ing cheerily in the centre. In front 
of it was seated the warrior who had in- 
vited us. He was an old man with a bottle 
nose, and a most ponderous corporation; 
and when seated behind it with his feet 
doubled under him after the Turkish fa- 
shion, he looked like a large sphere. 

Upon our entrance, after sundry puffs 
and heaves, he rose to his feet, and wel- 
comed us, pointing out seats upon several 
mats which had been placed for us, at his 
side. He then told his squaw, whose 
leanness was in proportion to his rotun- 
dity, to place before us the article to be 
disposed of. We watched her narrowly 
as she moved to a large kettle hanging 
over the fire. There was something in it 
of a reddish-yellow colour. What could 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 105 

it be? We had never fallen upon any 
article of that description before. The 
squaw seized upon a long, sharp-pointed 
stick, and commenced spearing into the 
pot ; but at every attempt the active occu- 
pant contrived to dodge from her weapon, 
in spite of her efforts. However, it is an 
old adage, that ^^perseverance conquers 
all difliculties,'^ and at length she struck 
the object of her search, and drew out, im- 
paled upon the point of her weapon, a 
large boiled pumphin. This she immedi- 
ately commenced dividing in strips. 

While the ceremony of spearing had 
been going on, we watched with some cu- 
riosity, to see what all this trouble was to 
produce ; but when the pumpkin made its 
appearance, the expression of countenances 
was most ruefully changed. I looked round 
towards my companions. Their eyes were 
fixed with silent agony upon the preparing 
feast. There was no retreat — it must be 
eaten ; and we were the persons who were 
10* 



106 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

doomed to do it. I had hoped to derive a 
little comfort from them. I had hoped too, 
that they might relish a sodden and water- 
soaked pumpkin ; and that under cover of 
their appetites, I might escape unobserv- 
ed. The expression, however, of their 
faces forbade the idea, and I determined 
to perform my share of the mastication, in a 
manner creditable to a civilized man. 

We fell to desperately, therefore, under 
the vigilant eye of our fat host, who was 
continually plying us with fresh pieces, 
according to the laws of Indian hospitality, 
and to refuse which would be regarded 
as a slight. How we managed to get 
through that vegetable feast, I can hardly 
say ; it was one of the severest trials of the 
whole of our campaign ; yet we did get 
through with it, and emerged from the 
lodge in safety. 

When we returned to the abode of the 
chief we found it crowded. Groups were 
squatting in every direction, wrapped in 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 107 

their robes, indulging in a low, mutter- 
ed conversation. This was occasionally 
broken by a deep, emphatic exclamation, 
which always bursts with a convulsive 
sound from the chest of an Indian, when 
engaged in a debate of some interest. But 
upon our return the conversation gradually 
flagged, and their sole occupation was to 
sit, with their eyes fastened upon us, as 
we were collected round the fire. 



108 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Doctor's Adventure. — Indian Dirge. 

When we had at first collected together 
in the chief lodge, we found that one of 

the party, Dr. M , was not present. 

There were many conjectures as to his ab- 
sence, but after a while he made his ap-* 
pearance. He was considerably out of 
breath, and related to us an adventure 
which he had just met with, or rather 
which he had forced himself into. He 
had remained in the lodge after we left 
it, to attend at our last feast. Having 
nothing in particular to employ him, he 
slapped his white beaver, which turned 
up all around, upon the top of his head, 
girded his deer-skin hunting shirt closely 
around him, and thrusting his hand into 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 109 

his breeches-pocket, set out upon a voyage 
of discovery. He had not travelled far 
before his attention was attracted by a 
low chanting song, proceeding from one 
of the lodges which stood a little apart 
from the others, and near the edge of the 
bluff, overlooking the river. 

Without a moment's hesitation, he walk- 
ed towards it, entered the low, funnel 
shaped mouth, and peeped over the bear- 
skin which hung before the inner entrance, 
opening immediately into the lodge. 

A large fire was burning cheerfully in 
the centre. Over it hung a kettle which 
was kept constantly stirred by an old In- 
dian, dressed in a buffalo robe, whitened 
with chalk, and ornamented with hiero- 
glyphic symbols. As he stirred he hum- 
med a low chant, occasionally raising his 
voice until he caused it to sound loudly 
through the whole building, and then again 
sinking it, until it reached the ear of the 
listener, in low and almost inaudible mur- 



110 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

murs. There was something wild, and 
rather forbidding in the features of this 
individual. 

A few steps from the fire, lay two forms, 
completely covered by a heavy buffalo 
robe ; and bending over these stood ano- 
ther Indian, dressed similar to the first. 
He too, was humming a low song, at inter- 
vals dancing to a slow measure round the 
robe. 

The doctor suspected that these were 
TMedecin-Men,* and that they were per- 

* Every tribe of Indians has its Medecin-Men. 
They are a kind of priest or prophet. Their influ- 
ence, however, is very variable, and depends upon 
the popularity which they may have acquired with 
the nation. As long as they confine their prophecies 
to those events, which they know will be agreeable, 
so long are they regarded with high veneration ; but 
as soon as^they commence predictions of evil — or at- 
tempt to reveal unpalatable truths, their influence 
wanes, themselves are shunned, and their predictions 
scorned. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. Ill 

forming some of the miraculous cures, 
which they boast of in the village, and 
which give them a reputation for superior 
sanctity among the credulous Indians, who 
believe them to hold communion with 
the Great Spirit. Their ability to perform 
these cures, arises frequently, from their 
superior knowledge, of the hidden medi- 
cinal virtues of different herbs. By jum- 
bling with their healing art, an unintelli- 
gible species of mystic mummery, and by 
pretending to hold a direct intercourse 
with the Deity, the cure of their patients 
is attributed more to his immediate inter- 
ferance, than to any virtue of the medi- 
cines which they have received. 

After humming round them, the Mede- 
cin raised the edge of the robe, exposing 
the naked heads and shoulders of two old. 

They are also skilled in the virtues of herbs, and 
act as physicians in healing the sick. From this 
they have derived the name of Medecin, (signifying 
in French, physician.) 



112 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

shrivelled squaws. The person at the fire, 
then reached to the other a large dipper, 
filled with part of the contents of the ket- 
tle, which was greedily swallowed by the 
squaws. The robe was then thrown over 
them, and again the Medecin commenced 
his hum and dance. 

Now the Doctor was a curious man, 
and although he saw every thing that was 
going on in the inside of the lodge, as dis- 
tinctly as if he had been there himself, 
still he was determined to see more. For 
a moment he paused to reflect, whether it 
would be prudent to intrude upon these 
mystic ceremonies, and risk incurring the 
anger of such influential persons, as he 
knew these Medecin-men to be. But pru- 
dence was a quality with which he was not 
much troubled ; so without more hesitation 
he kicked up the bear-skin, and stepped 
boldly into the lodge, in front of the two 
priests. 

For a moment they gazed at him, as if 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 113 

they doubted their senses. Their eyes 
flashed fire^ and raising their voices, they 
made the lodge ring with their yells. At 
this unusual sound, the two old women 
raised the robe, peeped from under it, 
and seeing the white man, added their 
voices to the chorus. 

After gazing for a moment, the Doctor 
attempted to approach the fire, but the 
Indians warned him back, ordering him 
with menacing gestures, to leave the lodge. 
These he pretended to misunderstand, at 
the same time attempting to enter into a 
parley with them, in order to gain as much 
time as possible for observation. Still they 
placed themselves before him, sternly or- 
dering him to depart. He attempted to 
explain to them that he was a Medecin- 
Man in his own country, and wished to be 
acquainted with their secrets, and that in 
return he would communicate his. But 
it was useless ; either they did not under- 
stand him, or they did not value his in- 

VOL. II. 11 



114 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

formation, for they persisted in their or- 
dering him to quit the lodge. The Doc- 
tor then determining, at all events, to ob- 
tain a look into the kettle, darted round 
them, and made for the fire. 

There was now something of menace in 
their faces ; and one of them rushing to 
the side of the lodge, seized a large club, 
resting against one of the pillars. The 
Doctor took to flight, and stopped not, 
until he arrived, most villanously out of 
wind, at the chief's lodge, where he nar- 
rated his adventure. 

After this I strolled out with one of my 
companions. It was so late that there 
were few of the Indians stirring. Here 
and there, we encountered individuals sit- 
ting upon the high bank, gazing upon the 
gliding waters of the Platte. It seemed 
as if they were engaged in a species of 
devotion, for they did not heed our ap- 
proach, but sat humming a low, a very 
low muttered song. We passed them, 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 115 

and continued our course along the high 
bluff, looking down upon the Platte, which 
was dimly seen, reflecting the stars that 
twinkled upon its restless water. The 
prairie insects were piping their evening 
calls, and the creaking of the thousand 
creatures, who were hid in its long mat- 
ted herbage, told that they were con- 
scious their hour of song and revelry had 
come. Occasionally we heard the long 
howl of a wolf, softened by the distance, 
and now and then some serenading owl, 
would raise his voice from the dark fringe 
of trees, which drooped over the opposite 
bank of the river, and send forth a long 
quavering whoop. 

We strolled along the bank for half 
a mile, glad to be free from the well-meant 
though tedious attentions of our hosts. At 
length, however, we turned for the pur- 
pose of retracing our steps, when our at- 
tention was attracted by a low, mournful 
cry, from the midst of a number of small 



116 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

mounds, at a short distance, the burial 
ground of the village. We approached 
the spot so cautiously, as not to disturb 
the person who was stationed there. Upon 
the top of one of the graves, a large mound 
covered with grass, was lying an Indian 
girl. Her buffalo robe had escaped from 
her shoulders, and her long dishevelled 
black hair, was mingled with the grass of 
the prairie. Her bosom was resting upon 
the sod, and her arms extended, as if 
embracing the form of the being who was 
mouldering beneath. 

Believing that she was some female be- 
longing to the tribe, singing a dirge over 
the grave of some departed friend, we 
listened attentively to her song. At one 
moment, it would rise in the air with a 
plaintive sound, as if she was dwelling 
with mournful tenderness, upon the vir- 
tues of the deceased. At times, she would 
seem to speak of the feelings of his heart; 
at others, the note would seem to be one of 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 117 

war, of battle ; and then her song would 
burst from her, with the startling energy 
of a person, who was in the midst of the 
scene itself, and was acting over the feats 
of the silent dead. At these moments, 
she raised her head, and her whole frame 
seemed swelling with the inspiration of 
her theme ; but in the very midst of this 
energetic burst of enthusiasm, the chord 
of some more mournful recollection would 
be touched, and the song would sink from 
its high, and ardent tone, to a note of wo, 
so despairing, that it appeared as if the 
sluices of her heart were opened, and the 
deep-hidden stream of her affection, was 
flowing out in the mournful melody. 

After a short time she rose from the 
ground, and wrapping her robe round 
her, walked slowly towards the village. 
It was not until she was completely lost 
to our sight, that we left our sheltering 
place, and followed in the direction which 
she had taken. We had heard the Indian 
11* 



118 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

dirge sung before by difFerent females, of 
the tribe, but as we considered them mere 
pieces of formality, we had passed by, 
without heeding them. But in this lonely 
being, there was an air of deep desolation, 
as she lay upon the grave, and a hope- 
less, despairing tone, in her low, melodious 
voice, that laid bare the recesses of a 
withered heart. 

We were so much interested in her, 
that we had accurately noted her appear- 
ance, and now hurried towards our lodge, 
with the intention of finding out her his- 
tory from our interpreter — a matter of no 
great difficulty, as the history of every in- 
dividual of the village is known to all. 
We found the half-breed interpreter sit- 
ting in front of the fire, wrapped in his 
blanket-coat, with his elbow resting upon 
his knee, and his hand supporting his 
chin. There was an air of iron gravity 
and even sternness in his deep-marked 
features that denoted a man not prone to 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 119 

yield to womanish emotion. We walked 
up to him^ and by means of a Frenchman^ 
(for he spoke no English) inquired the 
history of the girl — at the same time nar- 
rating the scene in the prairie. 

If it had been in the nature of his face 
to wear a more scornful expression than it 
usually did, the smile of contempt which 
passed over his weather-beaten features, 
as we related our story, would have add- 
ed to it. For a moment, he seemed sur- 
prised — then added, that she was a squaw, 
who resided in the adjoining lodge, and 
but a short time before, he had heard her 
say to her mother, that as she had nothing 
else to do, she believed she would go and 
take a bawl over her dead brother^s grave. 
He had been killed five years before. 

Here was a waste of sympathy. We 
were vexed that we had suffered our feel- 
ings to be enlisted in the mock misery of 
this girl, who was merely performing a 



120 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

customary mummery. There was an ex- 
pression of enjoyment in the keen eye of 
the half-breed, as he watched the disap- 
pointed expression of our faces. A grim 
smile played over his reddish-brown face, 
and I believe if he had ever been guilty 
of such an action, he would have indulged 
in a loud explosion of merriment. 

At that moment, the broad voice of our 
black cook, announced that the supper 
was ready. Discarding both the girl, and 
her griefs, from our minds, we seated our- 
selves upon the floor, preparatory to com- 
mencing the almost hopeless task, of mas- 
ticating a supper of dried buffalo's flesh, 
which had been boiled for only two hours. 

When we had finished, it was late in 
the evening — the Indians had ceased 
moving through the lodge, and wrapping 
themselves in their shaggy robes, had 
composed their forms upon the clay floor, 
for slumber. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 121 

The servants now busied themselves in 
spreading out our bear-skins. This com- 
pleted, each retired to his couch, and in a 
short time a dead silence reigned through- 
out the building. 



122 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

An Old Warrior. — Indian Dogs. — A Night 
Scene. 

About midnight I awoke; it was in- 
tensely cold, so I rose up and picked my 
w^ay over prostrated forms to the fire. An 
old Indian was seated by it; his hair was 
snowy white, and hung in long locks upon 
his shoulders. There were several scars 
traced upon his face, and even by that 
faint light, the marks of deep wounds were 
visible upon his breast. His robe had 
fallen from his shoulders, leaving bare the 
withered wreck, of what must once have 
been an Herculean frame. I did not know 
him, nor could he have ranked among their 
chiefs. His cheek was resting in the palm 
of his hand ; his eyes were intently fixed 
upon the burning brands which flickered 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 123 

up a dying, broken blaze. In his right 
hand he held a small piece of wood, with 
which he raked together the coals, though 
seemingly unconscious of what he was 
doing. In front of him lay an uncouth- 
looking tomahawk, made of wood, and 
across it his otter-skin pouch, and stone 
pipe: the symbols of war and peace 
thrown together, in a manner which 
seemed to denote that to their owner, the 
day of strife was past. His look was fixed 
upon the brands, but his mind, busied in 
its own wanderings, took no note of the 
things before his eyes. Could he be me- 
ditating upon the probable results of the 
coming of the white men among them? 
Could he be sitting there buried in his 
own musings, and prophet-like, looking 
through the dim vista of futurity? Could 
he see his own chivalric race, gradually 
withering at the approach of the whites, 
and the descendants of those, whose hearts 
now beat as free as the eagle's, crawling 



124 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

over the earth, a stigma to their name, and 
a curse to themselves? I could not pre- 
vent these thoughts from stealing over 
me, as I sat opposite to him, gazing upon 
his face, so noble and dignified, even in 
its ruin. Upon my first approach, he had 
not observed me, but after a short time, 
he raised his head, and perceiving me, 
reached out his hand, while a friendly 
smile played over his face. Then point- 
ing to his scars, he endeavoured by signs 
to narrate to me an account of the differ- 
ent war expeditions, in which these had 
been received. Each wound had a tale of 
its own, and each scar told of a different 
battle. After spending some time in tell- 
ing his story, he lighted his pipe, and first 
drawing a few puffs he passed it to me 
with the usual word of politeness, (Loo- 
vah.)* I puffed for a few moments, and 

* This is a word more frequently used than any 
other in the language. As far as I was able to learn, 



I 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 125 

returned it to him^ he then inhaled a few- 
draughts of the smoke, and again reached 
it to me, and I, after again smoking, 
reached it to him. This operation of 
smoking and passing it to each other, con- 
tinued until the pipe was empty; then 
knocking the ashes from its howl, he raised 
himself upon his feet, and taking up his 
pouch and tomahawk, drew his buffalo 
robe over his head, and left the lodge. 
Upon being deserted by my companion, I 
looked around upon the muffled forms, 
thickly strewed over the clay floor, with 
that strange feeling of loneliness, which is 
experienced by a person, the only being 
awake, among a hundred sleeping forms, 
and which is peculiarly strong in a place 
where every individual is a stranger, per- 
haps an enemy. The lodge was about 
sixty feet in diameter, and seen by the 

it had no particular meaning, but signified — almost 
any thing. — In fact it comprises about half of the 
language. 

VOL. II. 12 



126 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

flickering, uncertain light of the fire, it 
had a wild appearance. The stern, silent 
countenances of the sleeping warriors, as 
they reclined with their backs resting 
against the pillars which supported the 
lodge, reminded me of the eastern tale, 
in which a whole city of living beings, 
were converted into statues. Their fea- 
tures were at rest, they were not now the 
mirrors which reflected the passions of 
their hearts. Even those passions were 
slumbering, but still, their heavy lines 
were left, with an enduring mark upon 
their brows. If those stone-like faces wore 
so savage a character, when nature had 
thrown her own calm over them, how truly 
fearful must they have been in the day of 
battle, when every frenzied feeling was at 
its height, and every demon passion was 
ruling with relentless sway. As to those 
who were lying upon the floor, their sleep 
was death -like — it seemed dreamless. 
The gaunt Indian dogs were prowling 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 127 

Stealthily through the building. They 
knew that their hour of freedom had come, 
and with every leaping blaze of the em- 
bers^ I could see them scattered through- 
out the lodge. There must have been 
nearly fifty of them in full motion, yet 
there was not a sound to be heard. They 
wound their v/ay through the sleeping In- 
dians, with the cautious and practised step 
of veteran burglars — too well acquainted 
with the wakeful habits of their masters, 
not to be silent in their doings; and too 
much in the habit of stealing, to be able 
to resist the temptation to plunder. Occa- 
sionally they paused, and cast a doubting 
look upon me, as I sat watching their 
movements. They however came to the 
conclusion that I was a stranger, and from 
my short stay, was not aware that it was 
the custom of every Indian, to bestow a 
bountiful share of wholesome kicks, upon 
every dog that came in his path, as a 
punishment for the thefts which he had 



128 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

already committed, and as payment in ad- 
vance for his future transgressions. While 
I was watching their movements I was 
startled by a loud whine, which seemed 
to proceed from the roof of the lodge. 
At that sound there was a general scamper 
towards the mouth of the lodge, for they 
were certain, that the cry would awaken 
the savages, and that flight was their only 
safety. I had turned at the moment of 
the noise, to ascertain the cause of it. 
At the top of the lodge, and about ten feet 
from the ground, was a large dog, suspend- 
ed by his teeth to a flitch of bacon, which 
had been hung up to the rafters to keep it 
in safety. Upon coming into the lodge, 
the animal had espied this, and mounting 
upon a high pile formed by our baggage, 
had sprung out at it, as it hung. He had 
been successful in his leap, and had buried 
his teeth in the meat. But this accom- 
plished, he could do nothing more — he 
w^as dangling full ten feet from the ground ; 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 129 

his only supporters were his jaws, which 
were fastened into the end of the bacon. 
He dared not let loose his hold, and he 
was equally certain he could not main- 
tain it. In this predicament, he raised 
his voice, in a long, low, plaintive howl. 
Scarce had the sound escaped him, before 
a dozen clubs were clattering against his 
ribs, and as many clamorous voices raised 
in the hue and cry against him. With a 
loud yell, relaxing his jaws, he landed 
upon the head of an old Indian, who was 
dozing beneath, in defiance of the howls 
of the dog, and the clamour of his foes. 
The animal did not pause, but gaining his 
feet, scampered across the building, and 
made his escape amidst a shower of mis- 
siles of all descriptions. 
12* 



130 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER X. 

Leaving Republican Village. — Prairie between 
that and Tappage Village. — Reception by 
Tappages. — Departure. — Wh ite Cranes. — • 
Black Chief of the Loups. — Reception. — 
Chiefs Lodge. — Soldier Chief's Feast. 

The next morning about ten o^clock^ we 
set off for the village of the Tappage 
Pawnees^ situated upon the Loup fork of 
the Platte^ about eleven miles farther up 
the river. As we left the town^ a crowd 
of men, women and children followed us, 
in the hope of obtaining presents. The 
chief too, escorted us out. He was a 
princely man. His head was shorn, ex- 
cepting the scalp-lock ; his face was free 
from paint ; a long string of wampum, the 
only ornament he ever wore, hung from 
his neck ; a blue blanket covered one 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 131 

shoulder, leaving bare his high, prominent 
chest, and the sinewy arm which curbed 
the restless movement of his fretted horse. 
He had been used to the saddle from child- 
hood, and now governed his impatient 
animal, with the calm controul of a prac- 
tised rider. 

There is nothing upon which the In- 
dians pride themselves, more than their 
horsemanship. Almost living in the sad- 
dle, they are as much at ease, when mount- 
ed, as when sitting upon the floor of their 
own lodge. Many a time, I have seen 
two or three village urchins, beset some 
unfortunate horse, while quietly dozing 
and ruminating, upon the prairie. After 
sundry coaxings and efforts, they would 
succeed in mounting upon his back, and 
then without saddle or bridle, and with a 
whoop and yell, that terrified the startled 
steed into a full gallop, they would scam- 
per madly along, clinging to his mane, 
and to each other, with a tenacity which 



132 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

would have astonished any one but an In- 
dian. 

After accompanying us about a mile^ 
the chief returned, followed by a number 
of his warriors. The rest joined our band, 
and travelled in company, for the purpose 
of witnessing our reception by their rival 
village. Our pace was slow, being regu- 
lated by that of the oxen, who toiled pain- 
fully along in the rear. 

The prairie was beginning to show the 
effects of the autumn frost, and the grass 
wore a blighted, withered look. The sun 
shone red and lurid through the hazy at- 
mosphere, denoting what at this season of 
the year, is called among the whites, In- 
dian summer. Not a breeze rustled the 
dry grass, or rippled the swift, glassy 
waters of the Platte. Every thing was 
quiet, except the loud voice of the team- 
ster, expostulating with his oxen ; or an 
occasional crack, from the whip of Joseph, 
as he urged forward his mules. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 133 

Now and then, we came upon large 
droves of horses, belonging to the Repub- 
lican village. They were roving along 
the banks of the Platte, in bands of seve- 
ral hundred, prancing, and capering as 
wildly, as if they were still free, upon 
their own prairies. Upon our approach, 
they raised their heads, and gazed fear- 
lessly upon us. Two or three of the 
largest, then left the herd, and slowly ap- 
proached. For a moment they remained 
motionless, then with a loud snort, fling- 
ing their heels in the air, they dashed 
back to the drove, which sped off, with a 
sound like thunder. Occasionally too, we 
would pass a small hillock, upon which 
an Indian stood motionless, watching our 
movements. There is a classic air about 
them, when seen at a distance, with their 
robes flowing in graceful drapery round 
them, their forms drawn fully up, and 
their outstretched arms supported by their 
long spears. As these scouts thus gazed, 



134 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

SO calm and motionless, I almost imagined 
they regarded us with the despair of per- 
sons, who knew that their fall was near, 
but that resistance was hopeless. 

While we were yet several miles distant 
from the village, we observed mounted 
Indians, driving before them large droves 
of horses, to be ready for service in the 
wild ceremony of our reception. 

The town of the Tappage Pawnees is 
situated upon a broad plain overlooking 
the Platte. It is the smallest of all the 
Pawnee villages, and contains about a thou- 
sand inhabitants. The most of them wxre 
now poured out upon the prairie, where 
we could distinguish them in the distance, 
drawn up in a motionless body, waiting 
for the signal to dash forward to meet us. 

When we approached sufficiently near, 
it was given. Once more, we beheld 
them coming surge-like upon us, and 
changing their course at the very moment 
when our ruin seemed inevitable. Again 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 135 

the dizzying evolutions of the troop pass- 
ed before us. The wild neighing of the 
horses, mingled in confusion — with the 
thunder of their hoofs — with the yells 
and whoops of the Indians, and the clash- 
ing sound of their bows and tomahawks. 
When this was concluded, the ceremony 
of presenting horses was performed. Half 
an hour brought us to the town, where as 
before we found every being on the look 
out for our coming, and every preparation 
made, to receive us in a manner worthy of 
the nation. There is a sameness in Indian 
customs and habits, which render descrip- 
tion tedious. Suffice it to say, that we 
w^ere received by the chief and his people 
with all the kindness and hospitality which 
their means afforded. 

About ten o'clock on the next morn- 
ing we mounted our horses and clattered 
through the village on our route for the 
town of the Pawnee Loups, situated about 
five miles farther up the river. This is 



136 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the wildest of the four villages^ owing 
perhaps to the savage nature of its chief. 

We rode in a straggling string along 
the lowj irregular prairie. The Otoe 
Indians skirted along the bank of the 
river. Those of the soldiers^, who were 
not engaged with the teams, reconnoitered 
the different pools of water^ in hopes of 
coming unawares upon some pensive duck, 
who might be dozing upon their surfaces. 
Here and there we observed a broken 
patch of corn, at the bottom of some 
ravine, where the washed earth was of 
so soft a texture as to require but little 
trouble in cultivation. Occasionally too, 
we passed a clump of dwarf trees, closely 
grouped together over the brink of a 
spring, or run of water. Otherwise the 
prairie was bare of forest, and covered 
only with long withered grass. 

When we had ridden about half the 
distance, a number of Otoes came scam- 
pering up, to tell us that there were about 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 137 

a 'dozen white cranes, standing upon a 
sand-bar in the Platte. This incident, tri- 
vial as it may seem, created quite an ex- 
citement among the troop. Half a dozen 
loaded rifles were handed from the wagons, 
and as many soldiers started off followed 
by a troop of Indians, with their arrows 
ready fitted to their bows, in case the fire- 
arms of the whites should fail. But all 
this preparation was useless, for when they 
arrived within about three hundred yards 
of the bank, one of the birds, who, like 
an old man, on a cold day, was standing 
with his head closely snugged up against 
his breast, and gazing in moralizing mood 
upon the swift water, suddenly shot out a 
neck, three feet long, and turned a quick 
and steady eye upon the approaching hun- 
ters. He gazed a moment, then taking a 
step, and slowly raising his wings until 
their tips nearly met over his back, he 
rose from the earth, as if by mere volition, 
uttering a shrill cry which brought after 
VOL. II. 13 



138 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

him, his startled comrades. As they rose, 
a shower of bullets whistled after them, 
without disturbing their flight. They 
slowly mounted in air floating like a snow- 
flake over the silver Platte. For a few 
moments they lingered over its shining 
bosom, as if loth to leave their resting place ; 
but after wheeling in several widely ex- 
tended circles, they soared to an immense 
height, and then took a steady course to the 
eastward and were lost to the sight. 

It was not long before we reached a high 
bluff* in the prairie, from whence we de- 
scried the village of the Pawnee Loups, 
about half a mile distant, but we saw no 
signs of preparation to receive us. A 
single Indian alone appeared, galloping at 
full speed over the prairies. His horse 
was of a dark cream colour, fierce, and 
powerful. To his bit was attached a scalp, 
consisting of the whole upper part of a 
human head, the hair of which must have 
been full two feet in length, nearly reach- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 139 

ing the ground. The hoi^eman proved 
to be the Black Chief of the Loups. 
When he had come within a few yards of 
us, he sprang from his horse, and reached 
out the bridle to one of our soldiers to 
hold. 

His face was far more swarthy than that 
of any Indian we had ever seen ; but it was 
not more dark than the nature of the man. 
He was perfectly naked, with the excep- 
tion of a pair of leggings of dressed buf- 
falo hide, worn apparently for the sake of 
displaying a profusion of scalp-locks, with 
which they were heavily fringed. His 
frame was not large, but muscular and 
finely formed. His high chest looked as 
hard as rock, and the tread of his mocas- 
sined foot, was as firm as iron. His whole 
figure was one, which for fine proportion, 
and strength, might have served a sculp- 
tor, but his scowling face marred the 
beauty of his person. Yet he had his vir- 
tues. He was true to his word, and faith- 



140 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

ful to his friends; but upon his enemies he 
let loose every evil passion. The old and 
the young; the defenceless mother, and 
the harmless child, alike fell beneath his 
war-club. 

He advanced towards us, and grasped 
our hands with a grip which would have 
done credit to a vice ; then turning round, 
he awaited the coming of his warriors, 
who had now assembled in the prairie. 

Minute after minute passed, but still 
there were no signs of approach. The 
brow of the Black Chief grew troubled, 
and his eye darkened, at the delay. Still 
the minutes passed on, and the band re- 
mained motionless. The eye of the chief 
was nearly hid beneath his scowling brow, 
and he gnawed at his under lip, with a 
species of savage calmness. After a mo- 
ment he called one of the Pawnees, who 
had accompanied us from the last village, 
and sent him forward with some instruc- 
tions to his warriors. The Indian bound- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 141 

ed towards the band, but before he had 
gone more than one quarter of the dis- 
tance, a loud yell burst from them, and 
with a heavy, resistless motion, they bore 
down upon us. The Indian who had 
started, fled back to the party. At the 
moment that the cry sounded from the 
Pawnee Loups, the chief raised his head, 
and sent up a long, shrill scream in an- 
swer ; then springing on his horse, he sat 
motionless, watching with a keen eye, 
their every movement. They had ap- 
proached within a hundred yards of the 
party, when he again raised his voice in a 
loud whoop, and waving his arm, they 
separated and rushed to right and left, 
round us. 

But few horses were presented by this 
village, as a party of Sioux Indians had 
stolen down upon them but a few weeks 
before, and swept off nearly one- third of 
the horses belonging to the town. The 
chief gave as an excuse, that he had gam- 
13* 



142 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

bled away nearly all that he possessed.^ 
This was in fact the truth ; for we after- 
wards learned that the horse which bore 
him, was the only one left, of a large num- 
ber that he owned but a short time before. 
Upon reaching the village we found, 
as usual, crowds of women and children, 
curious to see us, though they did not 

* One of the principal games of the Pawnees, and 
the one on which the most gambUng is carried on, 
is played by means of a small ring and a long jave- 
lin. This ring is about four inches in diameter; and 
the object of the player, is to hurl his javelin through 
the ring, while it is sent rolling over the ground, with 
great speed, by one of his companions in the game. 
The javelin is filled with barbs nearly the whole 
length, so that when it has once passed partly 
through the ring, it cannot slide back. This is done 
to ascertain how far it went before it struck the 
edges of the ring, and the farther the cast the more 
it counts in favour of the one who hurled it. It is 
practised by the children, young men, and chiefs. 
The first gamble for single arrows — the second for a 
bow and quiver — and the last for horses. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 143 

press round us as in the other villages. 
This was owing to the presence of the 
chief, who rode by our side, and who, in 
fierce tones, ordered the crowd of gazers 
to a distance. A concourse had assem- 
bled, too, around the entrance of his lodge ; 
but upon our approach, they drew back, 
and permitted us to pass freely. In the 
inside we found a few of the principal 
warriors, who alone had been admitted ; 
the women and the rabble had been pro- 
hibited from entering, and they dared not 
disobey orders. There was a feast, as 
usual, but we ate little, as we knew what 
was to follow. Scarce had we finished, 
before a little urchin was in attendance, 
to conduct us to the lodge of the Soldier 
Chief, the second brave in the village. 
We found him seated at a little distance 
from the fire, awaiting our arrival. As 
we entered, he rose, and presented to 

Mr. E a large buffalo robe, upon 

which was painted a hieroglyphic account 



144 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

of his warlike deeds. After this he seated 
himself; and commenced describing the 
different fights^ and explaining the mean- 
ing of the various symbols. 

He was a tall^ thin man, with a sharp 
muscular face, and a deep-sunk eye, which 
glittered in its socket like that of a basi- 
lisk. There was no spare flesh about his 
frame, but all was brawn, and sinew. His 
look was that of a person formed for the 
endurance of great, and continued toil, 
and his hardened face showed that he had 
weathered exposures of all descriptions. 

He apologised to the commissioner for 
not having come out with the rest of the 
tribe to welcome him — being at bitter en- 
mity with the chief, and refusing on all 
occasions to act in concert with him. 

A large bowl of boiled corn was then 
placed before us, and each of us furnished 
by the Soldier's wife with a small dipper 
of buffalo horn. Having partaken of the 
mess as sparingly as the laws of Indian po- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 145 

liteness would permit, we took our leave. 
After we had left the lodge, the Indian 
agent who accompanied us related the fol- 
lowing account of a murder which had 
occurred but a few months previous, and 
which was the origin of the bitter feud 
between the Soldier and the Black Chief. 



146 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Shian Captive, 

During the month of May previous^ 
business had called Major Dougherty to 
the Otoe Agency, on the Missouri. One 
morning, while there, a wearied messen- 
ger made his appearance. He had been 
sent by a half-breed from the Paw- 
nee village, with intelligence that the 
Loups had taken a Shian woman prisoner, 
and intended to burn her at the stake, 
in the course of a few days.^ 

The Agent determined if possible to 

* The Pawnee Loups are the only Pawnee tribe 
that yet retain this custom. They offer their victim 
to the Great Star, (the planet Venus.) The pri- 
soner is, if possible, kept in ignorance of his intended 
fate, until led out to die. The sacrifices are generally 
offered in the spring of the year, to insure a boun- 
tiful harvest. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 147 

save her. Having made a few hurried 
preparations, he set off with five compa- 
nions. A journey of three days brought 
them to the village. The news of their 
visit and the object of it had preceded 
them, and they experienced an ungracious 
reception. No hand was extended in 
friendship ] no voice uttered the words of 
welcome. 

As the little band passed through the vil- 
lage, the tops of the lodges were crowded 
with women and children, and an immense 
concourse was drawn up in front of the 
dwelling of the chief. They forced their 
way through the fierce and sullen mob, 
and cleared a passage to the entrance. 

Here stood the chief. His welcome, 
and his alone was cordial. He ushered 
the Agent into his dwelling, nor did he 
turn a deaf ear to his request, that the 
Shian female might be spared. He told 
him, however, that he had no power to 
free her, and that all he could do would 



148 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

be to assemble a council of the nation^ and 
lay the matter before them ; that he would 
use his influence ; and that if they could 
be prevailed upon, the captive should be 
saved. He accordingly despatched mes- 
sengers in every direction, to call a coun- 
cil of the chiefs and braves of the nation, 
and they assembled that very night. They 
took their seats around the lodge in silence, 
with faces which gave but little hope of a 
merciful result to their deliberations. In 
the centre sat the Agent and his compa- 
nions; and near them the Shian captive. 
She had been led in passively, and made 
no appeal, for she had no hope. It seemed 
as if every sense and feeling had been 
paralyzed, by the horror of her approach- 
ing fate. 

The Agent rose and stated his object to 
the meeting. He was a firm man ; he had 
spent much of his life among the savages : 
but it needed all his resolution, and all 
his knowledge of the Indian character, 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 149 

to effect the desired object. As he spoke 
there was no friendly look returned ; no 
sound of approbation uttered. They lis- 
tened with a calm^ cold air, and he finished 
his address, conscious that he had gained 
no point, nor enlisted the friendly feeling 
of a single breast, in the whole of the dark 
circles which surrounded him. 

When he ended, the chief, who dur- 
ing the whole time had been seated qui- 
etly at the foot of a pillar, rose. He was 
in favour of releasing the captive, and 
of sending her off with the whites. He 
spoke with the wild energy, and vehement 
gesticulation customary among the Indians. 
During his speech there was a silence — 
a portentous silence in the lodge. But 
when he had finished, a hundred throats 
yelled out cries of anger, and a hundred 
eyes gleamed fiercely upon him. It was 
not, however, in his nature to yield. In- 
censed at the opposition to his will, he 
raised his voice, until it even drowned the 

VOL. II. 14 



150 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

noise of the whole assembly^ and swore 
by the Great Spirit, that she should be 
delivered to the whites ; and he dared any 
man of the whole assembly, to offer her 
the slightest injury. 

All quailed before the master spirit, and 
bowed to the superior energy of his nature. 
One after another they left the lodge, until 
the chief, the captive, and the whites 
were its sole occupants. In a few mo- 
ments the chief went out also. In an hour 
he returned, followed by two armed war- 
riors, whom he stationed in the opposite 
part of the lodge, placing the squaw be- 
tween them. Upon being asked the rea- 
son of this precaution, he mentioned that 
the Soldier Chief, instigated by one of the 
Medecin-men of the village, had created 
some disturbance, which caused him to 
fear for the life of the captive, and that 
these men were placed to protect her. 
He evaded all farther inquiries, and short- 
ly after left the lodge. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 151 

The whites stretched themselves upoa 
their bear-skins, but scarcely closed their 
eyes that night. The guards kept watch 
on each side of the captive ; motionless, 
but sleepless. On the following morning, 
the horses were saddled in front of the 
lodge, and the party having armed them- 
selves, prepared to mount. The chief 
led out the captive, and forcing back the 
angry crowd, he placed her upon a horse, 
between two of the whites ; at the same 
time cautioning them to lose no time in 
leaving the village. They accordingly 
attempted to push forward ; but the crowd 
hemmed them in so closely, that it was 
with difficulty they prevented their horses 
from trampling them down. This throng 
continued to- press round them, until they 
reached the lodge of the Soldier Chief. 
As they passed it, a bow twanged from 
within, and an arrow whizzing through 
the air, was buried up to the feather in 
the side of the Shian captive. With a 



152 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

loud scream, she tossed her arms in the air, 
and fell forward upon the neck of the 
horse. At the same moment, a loud roar 
rose from the multitude ; and two Indians 
seizing the bridle, jerked the horse on- 
wards. The crowd opened to let them 
pass ; but before the whites could follow, 
it had again closed. At that moment, the 
Agent heard a loud whoop behind him, 
and turning, beheld the Black Chief, and 
the Soldier, grappled in a desperate con- 
flict, while the followers of each, stood 
by, watching the result. They were 
both unarmed, and the issue was to depend 
upon their bodily strength alone. They 
were well matched, but the Black Chief 
had the advantage, for he had a deadly 
gripe upon the throat of his opponent. 

The Agent knew, how ever, that which- 
ever might be victorious, the conflict would 
terminate fatally to himself. He therefore 
sprang from his horse, and succeeded with 
the aid of several chiefs, in dragging them 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 153 

apart, and put an end to the contest. He 
then turned to look for the captive. She 
had been borne off by the crowd, who 
were rushing over the prairie with deaf- 
ening yells. 

Still determined if possible to save her, 
he sprang upon his horse and galloped 
after them. But he was too late. They 
had torn the wretched being to pieces, 
smeared themselves w^ith her gore, and 
were whirling her head and quivering 
limbs in the air. 

From that time, there had been a settled 
hatred, between the Black Chief and the 
Soldier. They spoke not ; they entered 
not the lodges of each other, and acted no 
more in concert than if they had been 
two leaders of separate villages. 

14* 



154 INDIAN SKETCHES- 



CHAPTER XII. 



Exploit of the Black Chief. — Alarm in the 
Village. 

We were sitting late one evening, in the 
lodge of the chief, around the fire. There 
were about thirty Indians present, some 
were lying upon the floor, and others sit- 
ting huddled up, wrapped in their robes, 
with their unbending gaze fixed upon our 
faces. The servants were spreading our 
bear-skins and blankets, preparatory to our 
retiring for the night. While thus situ- 
ated, the interpreter, after dwelling upon 
the desperate nature of our host, related 
to us the following anecdote, illustrative of 
his character. 

About a year previous to this, the Black 
Chief had by some means or other fallen 
into disgrace with his people. They 
shunned him^ and refused to admit him to 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 155 

their councils, until by some heroic action, 
he should wipe off the stain upon his name. 
He knew that there was no resource; that 
the blood of an enemy alone, would re- 
trieve his fame. He determined, there- 

« 
fore, to shed it, in a manner which even 

the most desperate of his own tribe, would 
not have dreamed of, and which would 
strike a salutary terror of his name, into 
the hearts of his hostile neighbours. 

Early one morning, taking his bow and 
quiver, he left his lodge, and started on 
foot for the Crow village, about two hun- 
dred miles distant. He set out upon his 
journey, without attendants, and singing 
his death-song. His tribe watched until 
lie was out of sight; they knew not where 
he was going; he might return soon, in a 
day, in a month, and perhaps never. 
They knew his desperate character ; they 
knew that his errand was one of blood ; 
and they doubted not, that if he returned, 
he would bring home trophies, sufficient 



156 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

to place him once more^ at the head of 
their councils. 

On the evening of the fourth day^ he 
reached the Crow village ; but waited at 
a short distance, concealed in a prairie, 
until it was completely dark. He then 
entered the village, and passed through its 
very centre. Several of the inhabitants 
were stirring, but the darkness was so 
great that they did not regard him parti- 
cularly, and he passed on, undetected. 
At length he came to a lodge, a little apart 
from the rest, with a horse standing at the 
door, tied by a halter of buffalo hair. 
Peering over the bear-skin, which hung 
before the inner entrance; he beheld two 
Indians reclining in front of a fire. A 
few feet from them, a squaw was pounding 
corn, in a large wooden mortar; and at a 
little distance, was a child sleeping on the 
floor. The backs of all were turned 
towards the warrior, and he hesitated not 
a moment how to act. Drawing forth his 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 157 

knife with his left hand, and grasping his 
tomahawk in his right, he dashed into the 
building. With two blows, he clove the 
skulls of the men ; he sheathed his knife 
in the heart of the woman, and dashed out 
the brains of the child. Having scalped 
his victims he mounted the horse at the 
door, and started off. He had gone but a 
few paces, before he observed an Indian 
making for the lodge. He felt a strong 
hankering after his scalp also; but there 
were several other Indians at hand, and he 
feared detection. Resisting therefore the 
powerful temptation, he turned away and 
galloped for the prairie. Scarcely had 
he got clear of the village, when it rang 
with yells and screams ; and in a few mo- 
ments, he heard the clattering of hoofs, 
and the sound of voices in hot pursuit. In 
a night chase, however, the pursued has 
always the advantage; he has but to dash 
forward, while his foes, must either stop 
to keep his trace, or follow at random. 



138 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

So it was with the Black Chief; and long 
before morning his horse had borne him^ 
far beyond the sound of pursuit. 

He reached his village in safety; re- 
lated his tale^ and displayed his scalps. 
They hesitated not a moment^ to believe 
him, for in recounting his exploits, an In- 
dian never lies. He was received with 
honour; and once more resumed his seat 
in the councils of his nation. 

This is a picture of Indian warfare — to 
steal like an assassin upon an unarmed ene- 
my, and butcher him without the slightest 
chance of resistance. Blood is what he 
seeks — no matter whether from the veins 
of man or woman — infancy or age. A 
scalp is his trophy ; and is alike glorious, 
whether silvered with age, or torn from 
the reeking head of a youthful warrior. 
With the savage, a hankering for blood, 
is ambition — ^a relentless fury in shedding 
it, renown. 

During the whole time of the narration, 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 159 

the chief, unconscious that he was the sub- 
ject of discourse, sat gazing upon the fire. 
His face was as calm and quiet as if no evil 
passion had ever harboured in his bosom — 
as if his hand had never been stained with 
blood, or his ears rung to the wild scream 
of the dying. 

The tale was scarcely finished, when 
we were startled by a loud outcry in the 
village. The next moment, the bear-skin 
was flung violently back ; an armed Indian 
rushed into the lodge — shouted out a few 
words at the top of his lungs, and as quick- 
ly disappeared. Every savage sprang to 
his feet, and rushed to the door, and in 
an instant the lodge was deserted. 

In a few moments the chief returned. 
Never had I seen such a change. His 
face which had lately been as unruffled as 
that of a sleeping infant, was hideously 
distorted. His eyes gleamed like fire, 
and his teeth were clenched with rage. 



160 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

One of the squaws spoke to him, but he 
heeded her not — snatching down from a 
shelf his bow and arrows, and catching up 
his heavy war- club, he again rushed out. 

The tumult grew louder. The inter- 
preter came in and informed us, that a 
party of Sioux Indians had stolen into the 
town — opened one of the large wicker 
pens, and carried off about fifty Pawnee 
horses. They had nearly effected their 
retreat, when they were discovered by a 
young Indian, who gave the alarm, and 
the whole village was now in arms. 

On sallying forth, we found every thing 
in a state of uproar. Whoops and yells, 
mingled with the cries of women, sounded 
in every direction. Horsemen were clat- 
tering through the town ; band after band 
dashed by yelling the war-whoop. The 
voices of the leaders were heard above all, 
giving orders and cheering their followers 
to the pursuit. At length they disap- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 161 

peared in the darkness, and the sounds of 
their voices died away as they galloped 
over the prairie. 

In about an hour they returned, and the 
chief made his appearance, gloomy and 
morose. He had taken no scalps; he had 
seen no enemies; no horses had been stolen; 
and the whole tumult had been caused 
by a young Pawnee, who observing one of 
his own tribe busily engaged in collecting 
his horses at an unusual hour of the night, 
mistook him for an enemy and gave the 
alarm. 

Nothing farther occurred to disturb 
us, and retiring to our couches, we slept 
soundly until morning. 



VOL. II, 15 



162 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



I 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Departure from Grand Pawnees. — Delega- 
tion, — Death Song. 

Two days had. elapsed^ and we had 
again returned to the Grand Pawnee vil- 
lage. We now prepared for our return to 
the white settlements. Nearly two months 
had elapsed since the prairie had become 
our home^ and its wild sons our fellows. 
We had lived in the land of the savage ; 
we had seen, in his real character, the man 
of nature. We had seen him in his mo- 
ments of joy, and pain; in his moments of 
pride and humility; in his paroxysms of 
excitement, when urged on by his impe- 
tuous nature ; and in his hours of relax- 
ation, when a calm was upon his burning 
bosom, and his passions were asleep. We 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 163 

had seen him, in his home, in the midst of 
his family, where the gushes of his heart 
were unrestrained; when the feelings of 
the husband, and father, and all the kind 
impulses of nature had burst the iron fet- 
ters of habit, and resumed their empire. 
The illusions thrown around him by the 
exaggerated reports of travellers, and the 
fictions of poets, had been removed ; and 
we had beheld him, as he really was; an 
untutored, generous, yet savage man. He 
had lost much of the romance with which 
imagination had clothed him. His faults, 
his vices, his crimes, now stood out in 
glaring colours, and threw into the shade, 
many of his higher qualities. Still with 
all his imperfections, we had learned to 
admire his chivalrous nature ; and to look 
upon him while uncontaminated by com- 
munion with the whites, as among the no- 
blest works of his Maker. 

The sun rose cheerily on the morning 
of our departure, A crowd had assem- 



164 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

bled in front of the chiefs lodge, to take 
a last look at the band of pilgrims, who 
had ventured among them. 

Many of the most distinguished war- 
riors stood proudly drawn up, with their 
robes muffled round their folded arms, 
and their heads thrown back. They 
watched us silently, and with countenances 
as fixed as marble. The females were in 
groups ; some in the area in front of the 
chief ^s abode ; and others on the domelike 
tops of the lodges. The voice of childish 
glee was ringing among the crowd ; and 
their merry games were going forward. 
Occasionally they would pause to watch 
the process of harnessing the horses be- 
fore the wagons; and the next instant 
would resume their gambols. 

A delegation of Pawnees, four from 
each village, had been selected to accom- 
pany us to the garrison, in order if possi- 
ble, to concert a general peace, among 
various tribes. This delegation was joined 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 165 

by many volunteers, until at length, nearly 
eighty were prepared to accompany us, 
to the terra incognita of the white man. 
A smile of kindness illumined the grim 
face of our savage host, as he bade us fare- 
well. The horses were saddled ; the oxen 
were yoked, and had commenced moving 
onward. We were preparing to mount, 
when our attention was attracted by a low, 
and not inharmonious cry, which rose from 
the distant part of the village. It came 
nearer and nearer, sinking into a long 
wailing moan, in which many voices were 
united. At length a train of Indians 
emerged from behind one of the lodges. 
They were dressed in white buffalo robes.* 
They approached us slowly, still wailing 
out their mournful chant; and we recog- 

* The white buffalo robe is so called, merely from 
one of its sides being whitened with chalk, in 
dressing it. The wool is of the same colour as that 
of all others, (a dark brown.) 
15* 



166 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

nized them for our party of delegates, and 
their fellow travellers. 

They were in fact singing their death- 
song, as is customary with all the Indian 
tribes, before setting out, upon any peril- 
ous expedition. It is merely a recounting 
of their different exploits in battle, and 
winds up, by taking leave of their friends 
and fellow townsmen. Although it is sung 
with an air of vast resignation, by all; 
and although you would think, that after 
it, the songster, would go to the grave, 
^nike a lamb to the slaughter;'^ yet from 
all that I could ever learn, there are no 
people that have a greater antipathy to 
dying, than the savages, or take more 
trouble to keep out of harm's way. 

The melancholy dirge swelled loudly as 
the long train moved past us; but it gra- 
dually became fainter, and fainter, as they 
wound their way among the distant lodges^ 
and disappeared. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 167 

In a few moments, we were galloping 
over the prairie, to overtake some of the 
party who had preceded us. A train of 
Indians followed us, and the tops of the 
lodges were crowded. 

After travelling a mile, we at last crossed 
the top of a ridge, and lost sight of the 
town. 



168 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Sto7'm. — Dog Feast. 

A HEAVY storm of mingled snow and 
rain set in, on the day after our departure 
from the Pawnee village. 

If there is any thing truly comfortless, 
it is a camp upon a rainy day. Every 
thing combined to add to its gloomy cha- 
racter. The fly of the tent, which might 
have afforded us protection, had been torn 
to tatters ; and the roof of our canvas 
house, settled down into a bag. Through 
this a steady stream of water distilled, 
upon the centre of a board, which we had 
honoured with the appellation of a break- 
fast table. The blankets were rolled up, 
and piled in the middle of the tent, cover> 
ed by a large bear- skin. This was nearly 
saturated with the drizzling moisture. A 
large pile of green logs, heaped up in front 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 169 

of the tent, refused to burn, but yielded a 
bountiful supply of smoke, which the 
wind occasionally wafted in clouds into our 
canvas habitation. 

The thorough drenching which they 
had received, seemed to have soaked all 
pride and dignity, out of our Indian com- 
panions. They crouched like wet poul- 
try round the fire, shutting their eyes, 
and holding their breath, determined to 
receive some of its warmth, in defiance of 
the clouds of smoke which it threw into 
their faces. Here and there, were small 
groups squatting out in the prairie ; each 
man was huddled up into a knot, with the 
rain pouring in streams down his shaggy 
robe, and dripping off into the grass. The 
paint was drenched from his face, and his 
whole demeanour so utterly changed, tliat 
it was almost impossible to recognize the 
proud, haughty warrior, in the dripping, 
bedraggled being, then crouching in the 
grass, beneath the pelting storm. Once or 
twice, some poor, half- drowned fellow. 



170 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

with a desperate attempt at jovialty, 
struck up a song, with a corae-let's-be- 
jolly kind of an air, which was intended 
to set the weather and fortune at defiance; 
but it was a failure. At the commence- 
ment one or two voices struck in with va- 
lorous spirit, but finding that they were 
not supported, they gradually sunk into 
silence, leaving the person who had com- 
menced the strain, to finish it as well as he 
might. 

Drip — drip — drip — pattered the rain 
into a tin bucket, placed in the tent to 
receive it. At length a large puddle 
which had collected in the rear, overflow- 
ed its banks, and stole in a small rivulet 
through the centre of the tent. A smother- 
ed oath from one of the party, who was 
seated in the very track of the water, an- 
nounced its intrusion. Several of the sol- 
diers were then sent out, with pails and 
shovels, and in a short time succeeded in 
draining a part of the pond, and digging a 
different outlet for its waters. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 171 

Just then the yelping of a cur was 
heard at a little distance^ in a clump of 
bushes, which the Wild Horse had chosen 
for his residence. 

^^So! the dog too is a sufferer on ac- 
count of the inclemency of the weather. 
No doubt the Wild Horse is completely 
drenched, and in a terrible fume.'^ 

Another hour passed, but still the rain 
continued. Just then the entrance of the 
tent was darkened, and the Wild Horse 
entered. He held in his hand a large 
wooden bowl, filled with boiled flesh, 
which he placed smoking before us. We 
were informed that it was dog flesh, and 
invited to try it. The soldiers had also 
received a share, but without being told 
what it was. "What is it,'' said one, 
taking up a small morsel, and holding it 
to his nose, " is it venison?'' 

"It tastes odd," said another, biting in 
two a large piece. Several of them then 
commenced an attack upon the contents of 
their bowl. 



172 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

^^I don't exactly know what animal 
this belongs to," said one of them, who 
was eating heartily; ^^and to tell the 
truth, I don't altogether like the strange- 
ish taste, there is about it.'' 

^^Poh! what should it be," repeated 
another, ^^but venison? and mighty ten- 
der too. I wish there was more of it; 
fresh meat don't come every day upon 
these prairies, for the deer are getting 
powerful shy." 

Just then the canvas opening of the 
tent was pulled back, and the iron face of 
the interpreter was thrust in to say, that 
the Wild Horse wished to know, if the 
commissioner was pleased with the dog^s 
flesh. The soldiers overheard it, and in 
an instant the dish was hurled from the 
fire, and the gourmands made for the 
water, writhing and twisting their faces, 
as if they had been stricken by St. Vitus. 
The Wild Horse gazed upon them with 
amazement, mingled with anger ; but when 
the interpreter explained the cause of the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 173 

tumult, his displeasure vanished, and a 
grim smile lighted up his hard, weather- 
beaten face. Then turning to his wife, 
(for he was attended by his better half) 
he called for a fresh supply of the viand, 
and collecting round him a group of the 
vagabond-looking beings, who were nest- 
ling in the grass, they soon left little else 
but clean bones in the bowl. 

We lay for a whole day upon the banks 
of the Platte river, but towards sunset a 
bright blue streak appeared in the west, 
and the dark misty clouds began to drive 
off towards the south. The sun at length 
showed itself upon the distant hills, and 
before it had completely sunk in the west, 
the sky was as pure and cloudless as in 
one of the happy days of June. This was 
hailed with joy by the whole band, both 
Indians and whites, and preparations were 
made for an early start on the following 
morning. 

VOL. II. 16 



174 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Deer Hunt. Encam'pment. Indian JVight 

Fires. — Lost Hoi^ses. — Doctor^s Mule. 

On the third morning after leaving the 
village^ I started out to hunt on foot in 
company with three Indians : two Otoes, 
who had borrowed rifles from the soldiers, 
and a Pawnee. The party, and the train 
of accompanying delegates, were jour- 
neying in a long line, over the prai- 
rie, at some miles distance. We had 
hunted for several hours, up and down 
the deep ravines, which intersected the 
prairie. My two companions had be- 
come separated from me; but a sturdy 
Pawnee lingered with me, and trudged 
lustily along at my heels, with the hope 
of coming in for a share of any game 
that I should kill during the day. We 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 175 

travelled up one ravine^ and down another^ 
but nothing was to be found. 

" Ugh !'^ burst from the lips of the Paw- 
nee. I looked round ; he was crouching 
flat to the ground^ and made signs to me 
to get my rifle in readiness. Vague sus- 
picions of danger flashed across my mind ; 
we had heard that there was a band of 
Sioux Indians lurking round our party. 
Could we have come unawares upon them? 
These ideas flashed momentarily upon me, 
but they as quickly subsided, and cocking 
my gun, I stole cautiously towards him. 
He was crouching in some bushes, near 
the jagged top of a small ridge, which 
looked down into a deep ravine. As I 
approached him, he shrank still closer into 
his hiding place, and made signs to me to 
pass to the top of the ridge. I crept up 
slowly, and peered above its level ; at the 
instant, I caught sight of an Indian, as 
he squatted quickly behind a bush. My 
fears seemed realized. We had fallen into 



176 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the snare! I looked back towards the 
Pawnee ; he was still maintaining his posi- 
tion, and keenly watching my movements. 
As he caught my eye he urged me by his 
gestures to fire : I hesitated. At that in- 
stant the dark form in front of me, rose 
slowly up from behind the bush; and I 
recognised the stern, proud features of one 
of my Otoe companions. The next mo- 
ment, I caught sight of a large buck lying 
lazily beneath the shade of a bush. The 
mystery was explained in an instant. The 
Pawnee had seen the animal ; and it was 
the deer, and not the Indian, whom he 
wished to be shot. As I rose to fire the 
Otoe again crouched behind the bush ; the 
bullet missed, and the beast leaping up, 
sprang towards the spot where his foe lay 
hid. He had scarcely taken three leaps, 
before a shot whistled from a clump of 
bushes, at some distance, and in a different 
quarter. The deer changed his course, 
and springing forward, made for the op- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 177 

posite side of the ravine. He dashed 
through the bushes^ and bounded like 
lightning up the ragged steep. At that 
moment the Otoe, who had first secreted 
himself, had a fair view of him; he must 
have been about a hundred yards distant, 
and was dashing furiously up the craggy 
hill. The Indian fired, and the deer fell on 
one knee, but regained his feet. In front 
of him, was a steep bank, covered with 
shrubbery. He made a desperate effort 
to gain it, but failed ; and rolled headlong 
down, until he splashed in the brook at 
the bottom. A loud whoop burst from 
the three Indians, and the two youngest 
sprang forward to the spot; while the 
third, who was a cautious old fellow, stop- 
ped to reload his rifle. 

When they arrived at the place where 
the buck had fallen, they found that he 
was not dead, neither was his w^ound mor- 
tal ; one of his fore legs was shivered by 
the bullet, but he had gained his feet, and 
16* 



178 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

now Stood at bay. His head was bent to 
the ground; and. he dashed his antlers fu- 
riously in every direction 5 his eyes flared 
with a wild, menacing expression; and 
the white foam slavered from his mouth. 
The Indians made several attempts to 
thrust their knives into him, but were 
as often balked by his fiercely-brandished 
antlers. They hovered around him like 
wolves; now threatening him in one quar- 
ter; now in another; but his horns ever 
met them. They then both attacked him 
at once, and succeeded in inflicting a slight 
wound. It served only to increase his 
fury; he leaped towards them, with a 
ferocity that caused them in turn to take 
to flight. Just then, the Indian who 
had remained behind to load his rifle, 
came up. The buck faced towards him 
and again brandished his antlers; but a 
bullet hurled him to the ground, and the 
next moment a tomahawk was buried be- 
tween his eyes. A sharp convulsive 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 179 

shudder passed over his frame^ he made 
a desperate effort to gain his feet^ but in 
vain, a second shudder concluded his 
mortal struggle, and falling over upon his 
side, he expired. 

An Indian is a quick butcher, and not 
more than ten minutes had elapsed, before 
the animal was skinned, and cut up. Each 
of us took a quarter upon our backs and 
set off for the encampment; which we 
reached about an hour after night fall. 

The party had encamped in a small iso- 
lated grove. It was completely clear of 
underwood, except here and there a tall 
bush; and there was not another tree in 
sight. A spring gushed out at the foot of 
a hill at a short distance, and flowed in a 
pure but scanty stream through the,grove. 

When we came in we found that the In- 
dians had divided into squads, and that 
every ten or a dozen had kindled their 
own night fires. All the arrangements, 
preparatory to remaining quiet, were not 



180 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

yet completed. The soldiers were felling 
dead trees, for fuel. Joseph was busily 
employed, in hobbling and swearing at his 
mules; while Mordecai with the air of a 
connoiseur^ stood by, assisting him with 
his advice. 

Some of the Pawnees, and Otoes, were 
scattered through the grove in search of 
fuel. Some breaking dead limbs from off 
the trees, and others collecting what was 
already strewed upon the ground. Two 
or three were erecting shantees to keep off 
the dews of the night. And several 
young Otoes were employed in weaving a 
shed of boughs, to shelter the wife of the 
lotan, who had been unwell for several 
days past ; and whose disease always grew 
worse towards evening, when she w^ould 
have been obliged to assist in the labour, 
if she had been in good health. 

In the course of an hour, the Indians 
completed their arrangements, and kin- 
dled a string of fires along the dry bed of 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 181 

a stream. As I had never seen them when 
encamped^ except upon the Platte, where 
all vivacity had been soaked out of them. 
I strolled among the different groups. 
They were all in high glee. I came to the 
fire, occupied by the Wild Horse's family 
and a few of his dependants. The old 
warrior was in the keen enjoyment of some 
witticism just uttered by a little shrivelled 
fellow, a hanger on, who was evidently 
trying to make himself agreeable ; that he 
might be invited to partake of a racoon 
that was cooking over the fire, under the 
superintendence of the squaw of his host. 
The Wild Horse made room for me by his 
side, so I seated myself, nor was I per- 
mitted to leave until I had partaken of his 
viands. From his fire I went to that of 
the Long Hair, who was huddled up, with 
his whole soul apparently engaged, in roast- 
ing a small piece of venison, upon the point 
of a green stick. He looked up for a mo- 
ment, and then turned his attention to the 



182 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

roasting meat. I soon left him and strolled 
off to the fire of the Otoes. Here I found 
the Doctor very cosily seated between the 
lotan, and his wife, prescribing for her, 
and taking care of himself, by occasionally 
cutting a rib from a large piece of venison 
standing in front of the fire, impaled upon 
a stake of green wood. 

Early the next morning the tents were 
struck, when Mordecai made his appear- 
ance with a very lugubrious face, informing 
us that two horses had disappeared, and 
that the mule belonging to the Doctor was 
also missing. The Doctor was in a fever. 
He ran down to the place where the ani- 
mals pastured ; he examined the bushes, 
and beat through all the long grass ; but his 
mule, Kitty Keero, was not to be found. 
He then seated himself upon the stump of 
a tree, and thrusting his hands in his 
breeches-pockets, shouted the name of his 
mule at the top of his lungs ; but no Kitty 
Keero answered him. At last the Inter- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 183 

preter pointed to a savage-looking Paw- 
nee, leaning against a tree, with his hair 
matted and twisted in every direction, and 
a few long elf locks reaching down to his 
naked waist. He advised the Commis- 
sioner to send him in search of the horses; 
as he was a first rate fellow to track a hoof. 
A blanket was accordingly promised the 
Indian in case of success, and after hover- 
ing around the grove for a short time, in 
search of the hoof mark, he hit upon it, 
and started off like a hound. 

In an hour he returned, bringing with 
him the vagrant animals. Kitty Kcero 
gave utterance to a long apologetic bray, 
as she entered the grove. This was well 
received by her master, who was so much 
overjoyed at once more seeing her, that 
two or three reproachful repetitions of her 
name, were all the chidings she received. 

The wagons then drove out of the grove, 
followed by the Indians; the rear being 
brought up by the horsemen. In front of 



Ig4 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

them rode the Doctor mounted upon Kitty; 
and as they jogged slowly along, I could 
not help thinking, that they would have 
formed no inapt illustration of Sancho 
Panza and his beloved Dapple. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 185 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Elk Chase. — WanderiTtg from Party, — Herd, 
of Elk. — JVight Camp. — Hill of Bones. — 
Racoon. — Indian. — Return to Party. — Wild 
Horse, 

On the morning of the fifth day of 
our journey, an Otoe Indian, who was on 
the look-out, came running to us with the 
intelligence of a large gang of elk. AH 
was excitement. The soldiers snatched 
their yagers; the Otoes their rifles; the 
Pawnees strung their bows, drew their 
arrows from their quivers, and all hurried 
after the Indian guide, over the prairie 
which had been burnt before us. In ten 
minutes they reached the top of a hill, 
looking down into a deep ravine, about 
three hundred yards distant. It was 
thronged wath elk. Some were gambol- 
ing about; some resting amid the high 

VOL. II. 17 



186 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

luxuriant grass^ which here had escaped 
the fire. Others brovvzing upon the foliage 
of the vines^ which hung in long and 
graceful festoons from the dwarf bushes ; 
and some were slaking their thirst at a 
limpid brook. But even in these^ their 
moments of greatest security, their in- 
stinctive vigilance was not at rest. For 
while most of the herd were frolicking, 
several, who from their enormous size, 
and the unwieldly length of their antlers, 
appeared to be the oldest in the gang, had 
stationed themselves as sentinels, on jutting 
rocks in the elevated banks, which com- 
manded an extensive view. There they 
stood on the look-out, their heads high in 
the air, their nostrils expanded to catch 
the tainted breeze. 

Scarcely had our band paused on the 
top of the hill, before the eyes of the 
watchful sentinels were turned upon them, 
and a loud snort gave the signal for a gene- 
ral flight. The bushes and shrubs, snap- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 187 

ped and crashed beneath their rush, as 
they rolled together in a heavy mass. 
Their branching antlers tore through the 
wild vines ; and the whole herd dashed 
across the ravine and thundered up the 
opposite steep. Large stones and frag- 
ments of rock, gave way beneath the tread 
of the leaders, and fell bounding among 
the hindmost. Those in front broke ofF 
large masses of sandy soil from the edge of 
the banks, and losing their footing, were 
whirled back among their companions. 
Notwithstanding the confusion, however, 
half a minute had not elapsed, before the 
whole herd had surmounted the steep, and 
were flying over the prairie, with the 
swiftness of a whirlwind. 

^^No elk meat to-day,'^ said Rash, (one 
of the soldiers,) leaning on the end of his 
yager, and watching the herd as they 
swept behind a distant skirt of trees. 

^^Ugh !'' ejaculated an Otoe, in answer. 

^^Ugh!'' ejaculated half a dozen Paw- 



188 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

iiees^ unstringing their bows^ and turning 
off towards the camp. 

^^Ugh! nin-gah om-pah^'^ (no elk) said 
Hah-che-kah-sug hahj shouldering his rifle 
and preparing to continue his journey. 

I had been in the habit of hunting in 
company with this Indian, and when he 
started forward, instead of returning to the 
camp with the rest, I followed him. The 
deer were abundant in this section of the 
country, and our object was game. We 
commenced a keen search in the hollows, 
but for a long time were unsuccessful. At 
last the guttural ^^ugh !*' from the Indian^ 
informed me that he saw something : and 
the next moment he pointed out a large 
buck; reclining in a distant hollow. He 
immediately made for it, while I seated 
myself in the grass, to watch his success. 
After stealing along several hollows, and 
keeping among the tall grass, he at last 
came upon the animal and fired. The buck 
started up, staggered a few paces, then 



INDIA.N SKETCHES. 189 

scoured away over the top of the hill. The 
Indian, after pausing to reload^ followed, 
and also disappeared. I waited in hopes 
of hearing the whoop! which usually fol- 
lowed a successful shot ; hut all was silent; 
so I sauntered slowly along, expecting hitn 
to return. Nearly half an hour had elapsed, 
when I caught sight of him, standing 
upon the top of a high peak, at several 
miles' distance. Supposing that he had 
been led off by game, I no longer delayed 
for him, but struck forward, selecting a 
route for myself. I had been in the habit 
of leaving the party at sunrise, previously 
ascertaining the direction which they in- 
tended to take ; then coming upon their 
trail during the day, by following it I 
had always reached the camp by night- 
fall. From never failing in this, I had 
grown self-confident, and this morning, I 
had not even inquired their intended 
course. 

I travelled for many hours 5 following 
17* 



190 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

the hollows, and heating the tall grass, in 
hopes of starting a deer ; but with the ex- 
ception of a few grouse, I met with nothing. 
I had continued thus unsuccessful till af- 
ternoon, and was sauntering along a high 
ridge, looking round to see if I could per- 
ceive any trace of the party, when sud- 
denly turning my head, I caught sight of 
a number of objects, stringing slowly along 
the top of a ridge. At first I was sur- 
prised ; for I mistook them for a train of 
pack-horses ; but the next moment unde- 
ceived me, and I discovered that I had 
come unaware, upon a herd of elk. There 
were about a dozen of them. They were 
as quick-sighted as myself; for at the very 
moment that my eye rested upon them, 
they also detected me. They halted and 
snuffed the air; but I was too far off to 
taint it. So they turned away, and slowly 
loitered on. I immediately made for a 
thicket of brushwood, and beneath this 
shelter, rushed swiftly towards them. I 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 191 

had not gone far, however, when, upon 
rounding a small point of bushes, I came 
directly upon another herd. There must 
have been more than a hundred in it. 
Many were lying upon the ground ; some 
were gamboling and frisking ; two or three 
were butting each other with their horns ; 
and several wary old fellows were stationed 
round as sentinels. I was within a hun- 
dred yards of them, so I fired at a full- 
grown buck. The bullet struck one of his 
fore legs, and he fell. In an instant the 
whole herd were on their feet, and hud- 
dling together like frightened sheep, they 
fled over the hills. 

I sprang from my hiding place, and 
drawing my knife, ran towards the wound- 
ed animal : but before I could reach him, 
he gained his feet, and hobbled off, at a 
rate which kept me at the full stretch of 
my speed. I then stopped to reload my 
rifle, and followed expecting every mo- 
ment to see him drop. He led me a long 



192 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

chase, over hill and dale, and across runs 
of water; until I gave out; and seating 
myself, saw him hobble out of sight. 

It was now time to look out for the party; 
a thing which I had totally forgotten, in 
the heat of the chase ; nor had I taken any 
note of the course I was pursuing; so that 
when my race was ended, I was completely 
bewildered. I was within a short distance 
of a well-wooded stream, and I suspected 
that the party would encamp, somewhere 
upon its banks. I knew too, that they 
must be to the westward of me, so I fol- 
lowed the course of the river. 

I travelled till sunset, examining every 
ridge in the prairie; every bend in the 
thicket; but there was no human being to 
be seen, nor a trail, or foot print, on the 
burnt sod, except the hoof marks, where 
the herd of elk had passed. I then clam- 
bered to the top of a high-peaked hill, 
which overlooked the prairie for miles ; 
but all was deserted. I determined, then 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 193 

to encamp for the night, in the neighbour- 
ing piece of wood, and in the morning to 
renew my search. At the same time, re- 
solving like most persons who are in trou- 
ble, that if I got safely out of this scrape, 
I would take better care when next I 
hunted alone. I went down into the woods 
and built a fire. The night was cold, and 
bleak. There was no grass to make a bed ; 
the wolves howled incessantly; and to 
judge from their snarling, and yelping at 
the foot of a tree, a little distance off, I 
imagined, that they had pursued some 
animal, which had taken refuge in its 
branches. The night passed away drea- 
rily, and with a joyous feeling, I once 
more saw the east streaked with the light 
of dawn. 

Before the day had fairly broken, I left 
the grove, and pursued my course to the 
westward, until I again came to a ridge in 
the prairie. This I ascended and looked 
in every direction ; but could see nothing. 



194 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

I raised my voice and gave an Indian 
hunting whoop, which might have been 
heard for a mile. The woods echoed it ; 
but there was no other answer. I w^ished 
to discharge my rifle, in hopes that it 
might reach the ears of the party ; but I 
had only a single charge of powder, left 
in my horn ; and if I should be obliged to 
journey to the settlements alone, I thought 
that this would be too precious to be 
wasted. So in silence, and with drooping 
spirits, I continued my journey along the 
line of timber. The sun rose, and gra- 
dually ascended in the heavens. A vague 
doubt began to steal across my mind ; that 
I had, perhaps, crossed the trail, in the 
obscurity of the morning twilight ; for I 
was now much farther to the west, than I 
thought it possible, the party could have 
gone. About a mile in front of me a long 
arm of timber jutted out into the prairie. 
I made for it, determining if I did not 
then come upon their trail, that I would 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 195 

retrace my steps and carefufly examine 
that portion which I had crossed before 
daybreak. I reached the timber; but 
saw no track. I again whooped; but as 
before, the echoing forests alone answered 
me ; and with a sensation of utter loneli- 
ness, I turned round and retraced my 
steps. It was near mid-day when I reach- 
ed my last encamping place. I had care- 
fully noted every mark upon the black 
sod ; I saw my own foot-prints, where I 
had struck out into the prairie in the 
morning ; but nothing else. I then kept 
on for an hour longer, but my mind was 
constantly vascillating — whether to follow 
my own foot-prints until they guided me 
to the camping ground where I had left 
the party on the day previous, or to keep 
on to the eastward until I should reach 
the Missouri ; or once more to return 
over the ground which I had just passed. 
I remember well the spot where I paus- 
ed to settle my purpose. It was a high 



196 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

swell^ which commanded a view over miles 
of prairie^ and even overlooked the top of 
the lofty trees in the thicket. It was 
strewed with bones. For several hundred 
yards, the whole hill was literally covered 
with them. It looked like some deserted 
charnel ; and I recollect even in the midst 
of my perplexity, taking up one and ex- 
amining it — wondering whether it belong- 
ed to man or beast. The place might 
have been the scene of a battle ; for the 
bones were so small that they could scarce- 
ly be those of animals. There were no 
skulls, either of man or brutes, to solve 
the mystery; and even the bones were 
covered with a greenish mould, from many 
years' exposure. 

After some consideration, I resolved to 
retrace my steps, and accordingly turned 
down the hill, and once more proceeded 
on my journey. I now was growing hun- 
gry, and for once felt the miseries of a 
keen appetite. In the midst of these 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 197 

cogitations, I caught sight of the head 
of a racoon, who was reconnoitering me 
from behind the stump of a tree; I shot 
him, and skinned him; and kindling a 
fire, cooked part of him on the spot. The 
cinders from my fire, caught in a small 
patch of dry grass, which had escaped 
the general burning of the prairie; and in 
a moment it was in a blaze — filling the air 
with a cloud of black smoke. When I 
finished my meal, I slung the residue of 
my prize upon my back, and struck out 
into the prairie. I had scarcely done so 
before I caught sight of an Indian, stand- 
ing upon the top of a ridge at some dis-^ 
tance. In a moment after he perceived 
me, and waved his blanket over his head, 
to attract my attention. I raised the Otoe 
hunting-whoop, and his shout, faint, from 
the distance, answered me. I then started 
for the hill, and the Indian, seating him- 
self, waited till I came up. He was one 
of the Otoes who accompanied us. His 

VOL. II. 18 



198 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Indian name I do not recollect; but when 
translated it signified; " the man that 
drags his heels ^ It was given him on 
account of a shuffling gait, which it was 
said that he possessed, but which I could 
never discover. 

We started together, and about a mile 
beyond the arm of timber where I had 
turned back in the morning, we came 
upon the trail of the party. 

Night closed in upon us, long before 
we reached their camping ground. I was 
nearly exhausted : the light racoon, which 
I carried upon my back, seemed to grow 
almost as heavy as a deer. My thirst 
grew intense; I stopped to drink at 
every pool; and kept constantly break- 
ing off the tops of the rosin weed, and 
chewing its pitchy sap to keep my mouth 
moist. Still the Indian kept on with un- 
wearied steps, sometimes pausing to listen 
as a cry sounded through the night air, 
or turning to point out the light of a 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 199 

prairie on fire at a distance. He did not 
slacken his pace, until with a deep ugh ! 
he pointed out to me the night- fires of our 
party, glimmering in a thick grove, on 
the borders of a brawling stream. 

A loud shout, followed by a genuine 
Indian yell, burst from the lips of the 
doctor, when he first caught sight of me. 
This was followed by a hearty shake of the 
hand, and warm congratulations from the 
commissioner, and the whole party. 

I was afterwards informed, that the 
Indian who discovered me, had crossed 
my track on the day previous; and, upon 
being told that I had not made my appear- 
ance, he had been induced by the promise 
of a blanket to set out in search of me. 

I had not been long seated before our 
fire, when the Wild Horse, dressed in a 
pair of white corduroy pantaloons, with 
the rest of his body naked, came stalking 
up to shake hands with me. His object 
evidently was to display this new article 



200 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

of dress; which had been presented to 
him by the doctor. Although highly de- 
lighted, he walked in them, as if in fet- 
ters; for though the doctor had a rotun- 
dity of abdomen, which completely out- 
measured that of the Indian, yet the other 
far exceeded him in the size and length 
of his lower extremities; and the garment 
sat so tight to his legs, that at a little dis- 
tance he had the appearance of having 
been white-washed. He kept about us 
during the whole evening. I imagine, how- 
ever, that in this short space of time he 
grew completely tired of his new garb, 
for the next morning, I saw his son scam- 
pering through the bushes, dressed in the 
same pair of breeches — though they were 
as much too large for him, as they were 
too small for his father. He, too, soon 
wearied of them ; and after having once 
or twice tripped up his own heels in wear- 
ing them, he abandoned them to the wife 
of the Wild Horse, who, I believe, from 
that period " wore the breeches/^ 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 201 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The False Alarm. 

The sun was glowing with a mellow 
warmth, upon the prairie; when our train, 
slowly ascended one of the black, undulat- 
ing swells, which traverse the whole face 
of the country. At our feet, lay a great 
prairie, intersected by a waving thread of 
timber, whicJi extended for many miles, 
and was now tinted with the bright and 
variegated hues of autumn. 

The Pawnees stood for a moment upon 
the top, casting their eyes about them. A 
shriek rang through the air ; so wild, and 
shrill, that it caused even the most stern 
to start convulsively, and clutch their 
bows, while the deep guttural ^^Ugh'' burst 
from every chest, as they turned towards 
the Indian, who sent up the cry. 
18* 



202 INDFAN SKETCHES. 

He was standing a little in advance of 
the party; his slender but muscular frame^ 
bent slightly forward; his form resting 
firmly upon one foot, while the ball of the 
other alone touched the ground, as if he 
had been arrested, in the act of stepping 
forward. His nostrils were expanded: 
his teeth slightly bared ; his eyes intently 
fixed in the direction indicated by the ex- 
tended forefinger of his outstretched arm. 
The eyes of the whole dusky troop were 
instantly turned in that direction. They 
gazed for an instant, and then the prairie 
sounded with their slirill, appalling yells. 

At the foot of the hills, at the distance 
of about five hundred yards, a small band 
of Indians were emerging from a wood; 
their white blankets and glittering gun- 
barrels, contrasting strongly with the 
dusky forms, and savage weapons, of our 
Pawnee companions. For a short space, 
there was silence, and then arose the se- 
cond wild shout of the Pawnees, while the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 203 

hated name of " Konza! Konza! Konza!^' 
burst in a howl from every lip. 

The little band in the glen, sent up an 
answering shout, which though it sounded 
less loudly, on account of the small ness 
of their numbers, and the distance which 
intervened, was still replete with defiance. 
As they raised their yell, they snatched 
their rifles from their shoulders, and pre- 
pared for the encounter. 

Just then a loud whoop was heard, and 
Wild Horse came rushing up the hill-side 
which we had just ascended. His long 
hair streamed in the wind. In his hand, 
he grasped his bow, and about a dozen ar- 
rows. He had heard the answering cry 
of the Konza, and had snuflTed a fight in 
the wind, with the keen relish of a veteran 
warrior. His small black eye glittered 
with joy, as he looked down upon the 
handful, who had dared to send up a note 
of defiance. He uttered a wild, exulting 
laugh, and shaking his war-club with a 



204 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

fierce motion, towards the distant foes, he 
raised a war-whoop, and waved his men 
onward. 

And now the loud voice of the lotan 
chief rose amid the din, calling away his 
band of Otoes, and summoning them to the 
top of a neighbouring hill. He was at 
peace with the Konzas, and had nothing 
to do in the present strife ; it was all 
the same to him which gained the day ; so 
he coolly drew off his men, and waited to 
see the result. On an eminence at a short 
distance, stood the Apollo-like form, and 
snarling, tiger face of the Long Hair. His 
robe was thrown over his left arm, while 
his right, grasping his bow, waved his 
warriors fiercely forward. 

For a very short space, the cloud of In- 
dians hung upon the hill, and then, with 
one wild cry they swept down upon the 
devoted band. There was no order of bat- 
tle ; each rushed forward goaded by his own 
impulses. They raised no farther shout ; 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 205 

every feeling seemed now absorbed in 
the deep, burning thirst for blood. Their 
adversaries displayed equal alacrity. A 
loud, fierce shout had answered the war- 
cry of the Pawnees ; then all was silent; 
they leaped forward, prepared to give 
cold lead in answer to the feathered 
shafts of their ruder foes. As they ad- 
vanced they separated, and extended their 
front, to prevent their being outflanked. 
They had now reached within about two 
hundred yards of each other, when a hesi- 
tation was visible in the Pawnee band. 
They moved slower and slower. One or 
two stopped, and gazed steadily at their 
approaching enemies : then they collected 
in groups, and seemed to consult. Even 
the Wild Horse, a savage who had revel- 
led in blood from his infancy, dropped his 
uplifted war-club, and pausing, leaned 
upon his bow. The Long Hair drew up 
his haughty form, and, swinging upon his 
back his quiver, which had before hung 



206 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

in frontj folded his arms, and appeared to 
wait passively for the approach of the op- 
posite band. 

A grim smile of scorn had curled the 
lip of the old lotan chief, when he first 
beheld the hesitation in the Pawnee ranks. 
For, like the chiefs of most of the neigh- 
bouring tribes, though he feared the im- 
mense hordes which belonged to that na- 
tion, yet he most heartily despised every 
individual of the four villages. There 
was an apparent acknowledgment of infe- 
riority in this numerous band, thus hesi- 
tating to attack the handful, who challeng- 
ed them to the conflict, which pleased the 
veteran chief; for in war, his own nation 
and the Konza, had always been looked 
upon as equals. 

In a moment, however, a like hesitation 
was observed in the ranks of the foe. They 
drew up and shouldered their rifles, and 
then moved frankly forward to meet the 
Pawnee warriors. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 207 

The old chief was perplexed. He held 
his hand anxiously over his eyes^ to pene- 
trate the mystery. Suddenly a new light 
seemed to flash over his countenance. 
Waving his hand in the air, he shouted the 
name of his own tribe, and rushed down 
the hill, followed by his band. It was a 
party of Otoes, instead of Konzas, and the 
recognition which had fortunately taken 
place, had prevented the effusion of blood, 
which otherwise would have followed. 

The parties now drew off, keeping 
coldly aloof, and eyeing each other with 
those proud and haughty glances, wliich 
are apt to pass between rival people even 
when friendly. 

The lotan conversed a short time with a 
tall, thin Indian, who appeared to have 
command of the hunting party, and, after 
leaving with him, a worn-out horse which 
he had brought from the Pawnee village, 
resumed his journey, in which he was fol- 



208 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 



lowed by the whites, and the long train of 
disappointed Pawnees. 

For a short time, the Otoes watched 
the movements of the party, then turning 
oif, they crossed the prairie, and disap- 
peared in a piece of forest. 



rNDIAN SKETCHES. 209 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Elli Chase. — Indian Sagacity. — Indian Camp. 

On the following day we wxre travers- 
ing a valley between two black prairie 
hills, when the crack of a rifle sounded 
from a distant hollow, and was followed 
by a loud shout. The Indians stopped 
short, and listened, but the shout was not 
repeated. At length a young Pawnee, 
impatient, sprang upon a horse and gal- 
loped over a hill, beyond which the shout 
had arisen. As he disappeared over its 
top, a second shout was heard. After the 
lapse of a few moments a loud whoop rose 
from the same quarter, and suddenly a 
powerful buck elk, with branching ant- 
lers, and enormous tynes, dashed with mad 
leaps to the summit of the hill. He stop- 
ped short at the sight of our band and 

VOL. II. 19 



210 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

glared wildly around. He was wounded 
in the shoulder, and the Pawnee was in 
hot pursuit. Casting a quick glance round 
at his foe, and throwing back his head, he 
bounded along the ridge. The wound in 
his shoulder, lessened his speed. The 
Pawnee plied his lash. The heavy hoofs 
of his horse, struck with a jarring sound 
upon the burnt prairie; and a whirl of 
black ashes was raised in a light cloud 
around him. His long hair streamed in 
the air, and his dark, heavy robe, flut- 
tered from his shoulders, as he dashed 
forward. A great interest in the result 
was evinced. The Pawnees were anxious 
that their hunter should acquit himself 
well, in the presence of a foreign tribe, 
who watched his movements with a jealous 
eye. The Otoes lost their usual cold cha- 
racter, in the earnest interest, excited by 
the headlong chase ; and the Indian hunter 
who had wounded the elk, stood upon the 
top of the hill, leaning upon the muzzle 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 211 

of his rifle^ and watching the success of 
his ally. 

The elk reached the end of the ridge, 
and sprang down its sloping declivity. 
The Pawnee horseman followed. In a 
moment after the elk was seen bounding 
up an opposite ridge, and leaping along its 
verge. His pursuer pressed on, about fifty 
yards in the rear. Here the chase was 
again in full sight, and continifed so for 
a few moments. The elk was growing 
weaker and weaker. He came to the end 
of a ridge which was cragged and almost 
perpendicular. He paused for a moment 
on the brink; looked down the steep; 
cast a glance behind; then gathering his 
feet he made a desperate bound down the 
rugged bank, and in a moment's time 
dashed up to the top of a succeeding ridge. 
Almost at the same time, the Pawnee was 
at the end of the hill ; he looked for a mo- 
ment down the steep— he half urged for- 
ward his foaming horse, then reining him 



212 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

in, turned away, and commenced his re- 
turn towards the party. As he was leav- 
ing the summit of the eminence, he looked 
around for the animal which had escaped 
him, but he had disappeared in a clump 
of shrubbery. Seeing the pursuit was 
ended, the Pawnees folded their robes 
around them, the Otoes shouldered their 
guns, and the whole party resumed its 
journey. 

In company with Hah-che-kah-sug-hak 
I soon after left the party and commenced 
a hunt over the prairie. We were over- 
taken by a young Otoe called " the Buf- 
falo Chief.'' He was armed with a rifle ; 
and was a keen and generally a successful 
hunter. Several Pawnees also came loi- 
tering up, for they always hang in the 
wake of the hunters, in hopes of obtaining 
a portion of what is killed. 

We directed our course towards a lofty 
skirt of forest, fringed with brushwood. 
Here we thought that we might hunt sue- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 213 

cessfully; but the night closed in, and still 
we were empty handed. So we were obliged 
to set out in search of the spot, which we 
supposed would be the site of our night 
encampment. The Indians moved forward 
with a swift, unwearied step. They seem- 
ed to glide along. Their blankets flutter- 
ed in the slight current produced by 
the rapidity of their motions, and I was 
obliged to hurry swiftly on, lest I should 
lose sight of them. An hour passed; they 
still pushed forward ; they spoke not a 
word ; not a sign of intelligence passed 
between them; they moved on rapidly 
through the dark, as if they guided their 
course by instinct. 

^•Ugh!'' ejaculated Hah-che-kah-sug- 
hah, stopping short, and looking earnestly 
at some object upon the black sod. 

^^Ugh! ugh! ugh!'' burst from the 

chests of several of the Pawnees, as they 

gathered round the suspicious object, and 

bent down, to examine it more closely. I 

19* 



214 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

came up to them, but could see nothing. 
The Indian pointed to the ground, and 
after much difficulty, I descried the faint 
impression of a moccassin upon the ashes 
of the burnt grass, though it would have 
escaped any, save the keen and ever-ob- 
serving eye of an Indian. 

A few words passed between two of the 
Otoes; then turning off they followed 
steadily upon the unknown track. They 
appeared to trace it without difficulty, 
though to me it was totally invisible. 

In about ten minutes, there was another 
burst from the Indians, and a broad gray 
line, traced across the black prairie, and 
visible even in the darkness, announced 
that we had at length come upon the trail 
of our party. Here the Indians turned off 
in the direction indicated by the line, and 
passing down a deep hollow, we ascended 
a hill. From its summit we perceived at 
a short distance, a dusky uncertain outline 
of timber, in a hollow ; aud the blazes of 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 215 

fires glimmering, and flickering among the 
trees, assured us that we had at last reach- 
ed the resting place of the party. The 
camp lay nestled in a large grove of 
trees. Within a few yards of it^ the 
Nemahaw river hrawled over a stony 
bottom, with wild, and not unpleasing 
murmurings. 

The Indians had distributed themselves 
about the open woodland, in groups of five 
or six. Each group had its own night- 
fire, and a rough shed of boughs, to pro- 
tect it from the dew. In the centre of the 
grove, and strongly reflecting the light of 
the fire, stood the canvas tents of the 
whites, and reposing before a pile of blaz- 
ing logs, were the uncouth forms of the 
soldiers; their appearance at present be- 
ing little less wild, than that of the In- 
dians. At one end of the heavy logs, was 
stretched the demi-savage, half-breed in- 
terpreter, reposing after the labours of the 
day, and gazing sleepily upon the fire, 



216 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

which blazed high amid the gathered tim- 
ber. One or two Otoes were mingled with 
the whites ; but the rest of the trusty band 
with the old lotan^ as master of ceremo- 
nies^ were collected round a large fire, 
which burnt brightly at a few yards' dis- 
tance. The graceful form of the lotan's 
wife, was reclining upon a pile of dried 
grass, beneath a canopy of green boughs, 
which had been formed for her, by the 
young men of the Otoe party. Notwith- 
standing the assurances of the doctor, 
that she was recovering, she persisted 
in her resolution of remaining an inva- 
lid; for as long as she travelled in this 
character, the soft heart of the soldier 
who drove the wagon, prevented his re- 
fusing her a seat in the vehicle ; and the 
fiery-tempered old lotan still insisted, that 
the young Indians should perform her 
share of the drudgery. 

There was something wildly noble, 
about this little band of Otoes. They 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 217 

were adorned with all the coxcombry of 
Indians, before they have degenerated 
from savage men, to civilized beasts. 
There was a frank, gallant bearing about 
them ; a native chivalry, which caused us 
almost unconsciously to place more confi- 
dence in them, than in their fierce, un- 
tamed associates. Behind them, resting 
against the trees, were their borrowed 
rifles, glittering beneath the blaze of the 
fire. Around us in every direction, were 
the rough wicker sheds of the Pawnees, 
their fires gleaming with an uncertain, 
lurid light, among the tall, straight trunks 
of the overhanging grove. 

The Indians in their shaggy robes, were 
flitting to and fro like troubled spirits; 
now hid in the gloom of the night, and 
now their dark eyes glittering, and their 
painted faces glaring, as they moved in 
the light of some blazing pile. Some had 
wrapped their robes closely round them, 
and sat buried in a gloomy reverie, with 



218 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

their scowling eyes fixed upon the burn- 
ing logs^ taking no part in the conversation 
of their comrades^ nor any note of what 
was going on around them. 

At length one of the young warriors 
struck up a wild song, which made the 
woods re-echo. Another joined it, and ano- 
ther, until the whole of the group round 
that fire, were engrossed in the theme. A 
single voice from a distant pile then struck 
in, another followed. Another fire then 
added its voice, and gradually it spread 
from one group to another, until every 
throat in the whole Pawnee troop, had 
united in it. It sung of war, and well 
did the gestures, and wildly energetic 
tones of the singers, express the meaning 
of the words. In parts, the blended 
voices swelled on the night air, with a 
mournfully melodious sound ; but when 
the howl, with which they ended every 
verse, burst from the throats of the whole 
band, it was thrilling and fearful. The 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 219 

Otoes caught the wild enthusiasm of the 
moment^ and they too added their voices 
to the savage concert, until it almost seem- 
ed to rend the black canopy above us. 

The song was kept up till after mid- 
night ; for long after we had retired to 
our tents, it frequently awoke us from our 
slumbers, or mingled in the phantasmago- 
ria of our dreams. 



220 INDIAN SKETCHES. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Separation from Party. — Burning Prairie. — 
Wolves. — Journ ey. 

It was scarcely sunrise, before the dark 
grove echoed with preparations for our 
departure. The voice of our mongrel 
French boy, Joe, was heard, hailing the 
mules, which had strayed for pasturage, 
some distance down the bottom. The sol- 
diers loaded the pack- horses ; the Paw- 
nees collected together their scanty stock 
of cooking utensils, and packed them upon 
the back of a lean, bony nag, whose evil 
destiny had made him drudge-horse to the 
Indian host ; and the old lotan saw his wife 
snugly tucked away in one of the dear- 
born wagons, and stationed himself as 
guide, at the border of the forest, waiting 
for the movements of the band. 

It was a cold, blustering day, with a 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 221 

clear and cloudless sky. The wind swept 
in sudden gusts through the creaking 
trees, and the dead prairie grass waved 
and rustled as the gale brushed over it. 

In a short time the party wound out of 
the grove, and struck across the prairie, 
in the direction taken by the lotan. He 
had been a bold marauder in his youth, 
and had traversed every woody nook, and 
every prairie swell which lay in this quar- 
ter. When standing upon some high bluff, 
he would call his young warriors round 
him, and point out the different scenes of 
his exploits. '^ There,'' said he, pointing 
to some clustering forest, '' there have I 
scalped the Osages, and there,'' point- 
ing in another direction, ^"^have I stolen 
horses from the same nation. There is 
not a grove which has not echoed the 
screams of my enemies, or borne witness 
to my plunderings. There is not a bottom 
in which I have not encamped, nor a swell 
which I have not crossed, either in hunt- 

VOL. 11. 20 



222 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

ing, or when bound upon some war expedi- 
tion/' He loved in his old age to dwell 
upon the deeds of his youth, and when nar- 
rating them, his faded features would light 
up, and his eye would flash, ^' for then/' 
said he, " my arm was heavy and my 
limbs were strong." Yet it seemed to me 
they could not have been much heavier, or 
stronger, unless they had been iron itself. 
Such was the Indian who acted as guide, 
and led the way in front of our party: 
nor could I see that age had impaired 
his vigour ; for in traversing hills and ra- 
vines, forests and streams, I never knew 
his step to flag or falter, or his frame to 
show any symptoms of fatigue. 

After following him for a short time, I 
turned off", in company with a strapping 
soldier named McClanahan, to search for 
wild turkeys, which are abundant in the 
forests skirting the Nemahaw. We tra- 
versed several glades, opening in a thick 
growth of timber; but although we saw 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 223 

many, we were for a long time unable to 
get a shot at them. 

In beating up the forest we separated, 
and I soon lost sight of my companion ; 
though for nearly an hour I occasionally 
heard the report of his rifle, sometimes 
near, and sometimes far oif. Gradually 
each discharge appeared to be more dis- 
tant, and at length they ceased altogether. 
I kept on after the turkeys without killing 
any. Sometimes I succeeded in winging 
one, and then followed a hot scrambling 
chase through bushes, briars, and under- 
wood, which invariably terminated in the 
escape of the bird. 

Several hours had passed in this way. 
I had strayed many miles through the bot- 
tom, when the height of the sun warned 
me that it was near mid- day, and time to 
think of rejoining my companions. 

Leaving the woods I took to the prairie, 
and sought the trail of the party, and for 
several hours pursued my course, exarain- 



224 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

ing every hill and hollow, in hopes of find- 
ing it ; but no trail could I see. As the 
day waned, I increased my speed ; but 
still without success. The prairie was 
deserted. The long grass waved before 
the blast but not a living thing met my 
eye. I then feared that I might have 
crossed the trace without noticing it; but 
the more I thought of it, the more impossi- 
ble did it seem, that the heavy track of so 
numerous a body of men, should have es- 
caped my eye. I ascended a ridge which 
commanded a wide prospect. A wilder- 
ness of grass was before me, with small 
rolling hills extending in every direction; 
but there was no appearance of my com- 
panions ; nothing to be seen, but the sky 
and the prairie. It was time to seek a 
resting place for the night. I looked 
round for some tree, but not one was in 
sight. Dead grass, wild weeds, and with- 
ered stalks, were the only covering of the 
hills. I was like a mariner alone in the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 225 

midst of an ocean. I knew not which 
way to turn. If I travelled to the west I 
might be approaching my companions^ or 
I might be going from them ; and then 
too, I would be journeying away from the 
settlements. So I at length determined 
to take an easterly course, until I reached 
the Missouri, which I intended should be 
my guide to the abodes of the whites. 

With a quick pace I pressed forward, 
anxious to find a sheltering place for the 
night. It was the end of October; the 
wind was chilling, and I was clad in a 
dress of drilling, such as is used only for 
summer wear. Just as the sun was sink- 
ings I caught sight of a line of forest, at 
many miles' distance. This acted like a 
spur upon a jaded horse. With fresh 
spirits I bounded down the sides of the 
prairie swells, and forced my way through 
the tall, clogging grass. But at last the 
sun set, and as the twilight darkened, ob- 
jects grew indistinct, and the forest which 
20* 



226 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

could not have been more than two miles 
oif, was gradually lost in the obscurity. 
In front of me was a large hill ; I ascended 
it, to wait on its summit until the moon 
rose ; for I feared to lose my course in the 
darkness. 

A feeling of very desolation came over 
me, as I sat there, with nothing but the 
dreary v/aste around me, and the blue, 
cold sky twinkling with stars, above. The 
wind had increased to a gale, and swept 
howling along, occasionally bearing with 
it the yell of some prowling wolf. For 
hours I sat shivering, with my eyes fixed 
upon the eastern horizon, watching eager- 
ly for the moon ; and never had I greeted 
her appearance, with such heartfelt plea- 
sure, as when she emerged to view. 

I resumed my journey, and after toiling 
for an hour, through a wide bottom of tall 
weeds and matted grass, I reached the 
grove — erected a small shed of boughs 
after the manner of the Indians, and 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 227 

lying down was soon asleep, before a huge 
fire, which I built against the trunk of a 
fallen tree. 

I was awakened by the increasing vio- 
lence of the gale. At times it sank into 
low wailings, and then would swell again, 
howling and whistling through the trees. 
After sitting by the fire for a short time, 
I again threw myself upon my pallet of 
dried grass, but could not sleep. There 
was something dismal and thrilling in the 
sound of the wind. At times, wild voices 
seemed shrieking through the woodland. 
It was in vain that I closed my eyes; a 
kind of superstitious feeling came over 
me, and though I saw nothing, my ears 
drank in every sound. I gazed around in 
every direction, and sat with my hand on 
my gun-trigger, for my feelings were so 
wrought up, that I momentarily expected 
to see an armed Indian start from behind 
each bush. At last I rose up, and sat 
by the fire. Suddenly, a swift gust swept 



228 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

through the grove^ and whirled off sparks 
and cinders in every direction. In an 
instant, fifty little fires, shot their fork- 
ed tongues in the air, and seemed to 
flicker with a momentary struggle for ex- 
istence. There was scarcely time to note 
their birth, before they were creeping up 
in a tall, tapering blaze and leaping lightly 
along the tops of the scattering clumps of 
dry grass. In another moment they leap- 
ed forward into the prairie, and a waving 
line of brilliant flame, quivered high up 
in the dark atmosphere. 

Another gust came rushing along the 
ravine. It was announced by a distant 
moan ; as it came nearer a cloud of dry 
leaves filled the air; the slender shrubs and 
saplings bent like weeds — dry branches 
snapped and crackled. The lofty forest 
trees writhed, and creaked, and groaned. 
The next instant the furious blast reach- 
ed the flaming prairie. Myriads and my- 
riads of bright embers were flung wildly 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 229 

up in the air: flakes of blazing grass, 
whirled like meteors through the sky. 
The flame spread into a vast sheet, that 
swept over the prairie, bending forward, 
illumining the black waste which it had 
passed, and shedding a red light far down 
the deep vistas of the forest; though all 
beyond the blaze was of a pitchy black- 
ness. The roaring flames, drowned even 
the howling of the wind. At each suc- 
ceeding blast, they threw long pyramidal 
streams upwards in the black sky, then 
flared horizontally, and seemed to bound 
forward, lighting at each bound, a new 
conflagration. Leap succeeded leap; the 
flames rushed onward with a race-horse 
speed. The noise sounded like the roar 
of a stormy ocean, and the wild, tumultu- 
ous billows of flame, were tossed about like 
a sea' of fire. Directly in their course, 
and some distance out in the praire, stood 
a large grove of oaks — the dry leaves still 
clinging to the branches. There was a 



230 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

red glare thrown upon them^ from the 
blazing flood. A moment passed, and a 
black smoke oozed from the nearest tree — 
the blaze roared among their branches, 
and shot up for a hundred feet in the air-^ 
waving as if in triumph. The effect was 
transient. In a moment had the fire swept 
through a grove covering several acres. 
It sank again into the prairie, leaving the 
limbs of every tree scathed and scorched 
to an inky blackness ; and shining with 
a bright crimson light, between their 
branches. In this way the light confla- 
gration swept over the landscape : every 
hill seemed to burn its own funeral pyre, 
and the scorching heat licked up every 
blade in the hollows. A dark cloud of 
gray smoke, filled with burning embers, 
spread over the course of the flames, occa- 
sionally forming not ungraceful columns, 
which were almost instantly shattered by 
the wind, and driven in a thousand differ- 
ent directions. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 231 

For several hours the blaze continued 
to rage, and the whole horizon became 
girdled with a belt of living fire. As 
the circle extended, the flames appeared 
smaller and smaller: until they looked like 
a slight golden thread drawn around the 
hills. They then must have been nearly 
ten miles distant. At length the blaze 
disappeared, although the purple light, 
that for hours illumined the night sky, 
told that the element was extending into 
other regions of the prairies. 

It was sunrise when I rose from my rest- 
ing place and resumed my journey. What 
a change! All was waste. The sun had 
set upon a prairie still clothed in its natu- 
ral garb of herbage. It rose upon a scene 
of desolation. Not a single weed — not a 
blade of grass, was left. The tall grove, 
which at sunset was covered with wither- 
ed foliage, now spread a labyrinth of 
scorched and naked branches — the very 
type of ruin. A thin covering of gray 



232 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

ashes was sprinkled upon the ground be- 
neath, and several large, dead trees, whose 
dried branches had caught and nourished 
the flame, were still blazing or sending up 
long spires of smoke. In every direction, 
barrenness marked the track of the flames. 
It had even worked its course against the 
blast, hugging to the roots of the tall grass. 

The wind was still raging ; cinders and 
ashes were drifting, and whirling about, 
in almost suffocating clouds, sometimes 
rendering it impossible to see for more 
than one or two hundred yards. 

In surveying the dreary landscape, I 
caught sight of a gaunt, gray prairie wolf, 
stealing with a thief- like step down one of 
the hollows, as if his spirit was cowed by 
the scene. He was the only living thing 
to be seen. He saw his fellow-wanderer, 
but he did not fly. The very desolation 
around, appeared to have brought him a 
link nearer to man, for he had lost his 
terrors of him. He paused as he reached 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 233 

the foot of the hill. Here he uttered a 
lovvj querulous howl, which was answered 
from the woods, and three others emerged 
from the timber, and joined him. 

They stood for a few moments gazing 
at me, and then commenced slowly to 
approach. I knew that there was not a 
more cowardly beast upon the prairie, than 
the wolf; but a chill shot over me, as I saw 
them advance. It seemed as if they re- 
garded me, as the cause of the desolation, 
that had swept over their homes; and I 
felt guilty and lonely. 

But even amid this want of companion- 
ship, I had no relish for that of wolves: 
so I raised my rifle, and sent a bullet among 
them. A loud howl answered its report; 
and the limping step of one of them, as 
the gang fled for the woods, convinced 
me, that my messenger had performed its 
errand. 

I now gave up the hopeless task of 
searching for my fellow travellers; and as 

VOL. II. 21 



234 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the lotan had mentioned; that they were 
but a few days' journey from the set- 
tlements, I shouldered my rifle, and taking 
an easterly course, by aid of the sun, start- 
ed forward, trusting to make my way to the 
abodes of white men. It was weary wan- 
dering. Hill succeeded hill, and one val- 
ley swept off into another. The faint 
tracery of distant trees, disappeared as I i 

journeyed onward, and soon there was | 

nothing to be seen but the cold, unspecked J 

blue of the sky, and the boundless black 
of the ravaged prairie. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 235 



CHAPTER XX. 

A Hunted Deer. — Deserted Encampment. — Dis- 
tant Indians. — Night Camp. — Owls. — Burn- 
ing Sycamore. 

For hours I continued my course, paus- 
ing upon the summit of every hill, in a 
faint, but vain hope of seeing my com- 
rades. At last, at a distance, I saw a deer 
scouring over the top of a ridge, and 
making directly towards me. I crouched 
upon the burnt sod, cocked my rifle, and 
waited for him. I wondered at his speed, 
for there was no hunter in sight ; but it 
was soon explained. As he descended 
into a hollow, three wolves came following 
at full speed, over the hill. The deer 
soon rose out of the bend, and kept on 
towards me. Almost without breathing, I 
watched him. I had eaten nothing since 
the morning of the preceding day, and 



236 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

there was something of ferocity in my feel- 
ings^ as I gazed at him. I gathered my 
feet under me^ and slowly raised my rifle. 
The animal still approached. I should 
have waited ; but a burning feverishness 
rendered me impatient, and while he was 
at least a hundred and fifty yards distant;, 
I rose and took aim. He stopped short, 
and gazed steadily at me, with his head 
raised high in the air, and presenting only 
his front. I pulled the trigger; the bul- 
let might have grazed him, but did him 
no injury. He did not wait for a second 
shot, but darted like an arrow across the 
prairie. I watched him until he faded 
from my sight, and then re-loaded my 
rifle. 

This incident, which for an instant had 
diverted the current of my thoughts, now 
served only to render them more heavy. 
At the sound of my rifle, the wolves in 
pursuit, had scampered off* as hastily in 
one direction, as the deer had done in the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 237 

Other; and I felt a kind of selfish satisfac- 
tion in knowing, that if I had not been 
able to obtain a meal from his ribs, this 
gang of vagabonds was equally disap- 
pointed. 

Once more I proceeded on my journey, 
directing my course by the sun. I had 
hunted much on foot, and my limbs had 
become hardened by toil ; so that I could 
journey long without sinking, though not 
without feeling fatigue. It was about an 
hour after mid- day when I again came in 
sight of a forest. There was a golden 
mark upon the prairie. The blackness 
stopped abruptly, and pointed out the spot 
where the fire, from some cause or other, 
had ceased its course in this direction. A 
lowering column of smoke, however, hang- 
ing like a sullen pall, in another quarter, 
showed that the element was still at work. 
Within half an hour, I reached the 
wood, and striking an Indian trail, en- 
tered it. It was a grove of tall, and beau- 
21* 



238 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

tiful hickories ; and in the centre were 
the remains of an Indian hunting-camp. 
It had been occupied for some time, as the 
frames of the wigwams were more strong 
and durable in their structure^ than those 
usually erected for transient purposes. 
They could have been abandoned but 
lately ; for the bark was still green on the 
boughs composing them, and there were 
the recent foot- prints of horses. The dead 
pea- vines were trampled down by hoofs : 
and there was one rock, jutting out in the 
small stream meandering through the 
grove, which was covered with racoon 
fur, and here and there sprinkled with 
drops of blood. I sat down upon the rock, 
watched the waters, and thought of the 
former occupants of the grove. Had I 
been a day sooner, I might have met them ; 
but then they might have been enemies. 
So I began to think that things were better 
as they were ; for even the most friendly 
tribes, are apt to lose their good will to- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 239 

wards the whites, when a single one falls 
into their power. Desolate as I was, I 
could not but be sensible of the beauty of 
the grove. I could see far down deep 
vistas, gilded here and there by the sun- 
beams. The wind had gradually died away. 
The stream glided murmuring over a rocky 
bottom, and here and there glittered like 
silver in the beams of the sun. The wild 
cry of the blue-jay was heard, hailing 
some noisy comrade in a distant tree- top. 
As I sat looking upon the water, I heard a 
slight noise in the stream, above me, and 
caught sight of a number of wood-ducks, 
borne on by the current. They are a beau- 
tiful bird. Now they glided beneath the 
shade of some plant that drooped over the 
water's edge ; now they whirled easily 
round, as some changeful current caught 
them in its lilliputian whirlpool. They 
chased each other sportively across the 
water, sometimes scouring up the stream, 
then again relinquishing themselves to its 



240 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

course. They were small game^ but I was 
famished, and had my rifle in readiness. 
I waited until I got two of them in a range, 
and then fired. My bullet struck off the 
head of the first, and considerably confused 
the ideas of the second ; but after splash- 
ing about, bottom upwards, and trying 
several other novel modes of navigation, 
he recovered himself, and flew after his 
companions. 

Having secured my prize, I crossed the 
brook, and struck into a winding pathway, 
which led up the steep bank opposite. 

I had scarcely left the grove, when upon 
looking round, I caught sight of a train of 
figures moving along the top of a ridge, 
far away to the westward. There were 
six in it, and they must have been many 
miles distant. So faint was their outline, and 
so small did they appear in the vast space 
that lay open in that direction, that they 
reminded me of the dim, spectre-like forms 
of a phantasmagoria. At first I felt a start 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 241 

of joy^ for I thought that they might be 
my companions: but a second reflection 
convinced me that I was mistaken, for the 
train was moving along to the northwest — 
the very reverse of the route to the settle- 
ments. Then too the idea flashed across 
me, that they must be Indians — perhaps 
hostile ones. Although so distant that there 
was scarcely a probability of their seeing 
me, I returned to the grove, where I 
watched their gliding forms, until they at 
last sunk behind one of the ridges, and 
then I pursued my course. In front of 
me again, was a prairie which had escaped 
the flame, and was covered with herbage. 
But though it was pleasing to the eye, I 
soon began to wish for the black waste ; 
for the tangled grass impeded my steps, 
and rendered my journey extremely toil- 
some. I had not accomplished many miles 
before the sun began to sink in the west. 
I then determined to travel no farther that 
night, but take up my quarters in a small 



242 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

clump of trees^ which clustered like an 
island upon the borders of a brook. I 
collected a pile of dry wood; kindled a 
fire ; made a spit of a green twig, on which 
I impaled my duck, and stuck it upright 
in the ground in front of the fire; then 
stretching myself upon a bed of dry grass^ 
I watched the roasting of my supper with 
a hungry eye. When I had made a meal 
with the relish of a half-famished man^ I 
turned upon my bed and fell asleep. After 
a time I awoke ; added fresh fuel to the 
fire, and stretched myself upon my pallet^ 
again to sleep. 

It was a bright and beautiful night ; the 
moon was shining amidst myriads of stars^ 
veiled now and then by a light^ fleecy 
cloud, from which she seemed to emerge 
with increased splendour. I lay gazing 
at her as she moved along like a queen 
surrounded by her maids of honour. 

^^ Whoop! whoop! whoo!'' sounded a 
loud voice near me. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 243 

I Started to my feet: for I thought that 
I had heard a human cry ; perhaps one of 
my party, and with a loud hail I answered 
the sound. 

^^ Whoop! whoo! whoo!" again repeat- 
ed the voice. A gigantic sycamore reared 
its naked and scathed trunk in the moon- 
light. At the extremity of a single dry 
limb, which stretched out from nearly the 
top of the tree, was seated an owl of the 
largest species. 

He repeated the cry which had started 
me. ^^ Whoop! whoo! whoo!" 

^^ Whoop! whoo! whoo!'' responded 
another from a different quarter, and a 
dusky bird flitted by, and perched on the 
long limb beside his companion. I again 
stretched myself upon my couch and 
watched them, as they sat between me 
and the moon. There was a confused 
jabbering carried on between them : they 
probably had charge of the grove, and 



244 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

were puzzled, at the intrusion of a stran- 
ger. After debating for some time, they 
concluded to take a nearer view of the in- 
truder, and descended to a lower branch. 
Here they carried on the debate ; appa- 
rently wondering who I was, and what I 
wanted. They rubbed their huge heads 
together with an air of vast perplexity: 
they rocked and fluttered on their perch. 
Occasionally one of them threw his head 
on one side, and cast a very inquisitive 
look down upon me ; and then a fresh jab- 
bering went on. After about fifteen mi- 
nutes spent in this way, the two dignita- 
ries giving a farewell ^^ whoop! whoop! 
whoo!'' flapped off" and disappeared. 

Again I turned and fixed my gaze upon 
the moon. There was a feeling of fellow- 
ship connected with it. I knew that other 
eyes were resting upon her pale orb, and 
I knew that while she was shining upon 
my solitary couch, she was at the same 



\ 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 245 

time pouring her mellow light, upon the 
abodes of my friends, far away and uncon- 
scious of my situation. 

Chilled by the night air, I turned away 
and looked into the fire — forming palaces, 
groves, and arcades, amid its glowing em- 
bers, until gradually my eyes closed, and 
I slept. 

When I awoke the sun was shining, and 
I resumed my solitary journey. I conti- 
nued on foot from sunrise till sunset, with- 
out seeing a living thing, unless, perhaps, 
a distant deer; and halted for the night, 
in a forest of thick timber. I found a 
large, dead sycamore standing upright, 
with a complete chamber formed in its 
trunk by decay. I kindled a fire in front 
of it, and filled the empty trunk with dried 
grass, and pea- vines for a couch. I was 
wearied and slept soundly, until near mid- 
night, when I was awakened by the in- 
tense heat. The fire had by some means 
communicated to a pile of fuel, which I had 

VOL. II. 22 



246 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

collected to sustain it during the night. 
This was in a furious blaze^ causing the old 
tree to smoke with the heat. The hollow 
trunk was no place for me^ unless I chose to 
be roasted. I pulled my cap from my head, 
and wrapped it round my powder-horn — 
seized my rifle, and sprang through the 
fire. The next instant, the flame leaped 
upon my bed of dried vines, and the whole 
interior of the dead tree, was in a blaze, 
that lasted for an instant and then expired. 
As it was no longer possible to return to 
it, I seated myself upon a stump, and re- 
mained half shivering, half dozing, until 
morning. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 247 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Wild Turkey. — Squirrel. — Parroquets.^ Trail. 
— Konza Indian. — Mght Camp. — Deserted 
House. — Konza Agency. — Reaching Leaven- 
worth. 

Before the sun had risen, I was on my 
way, directing my course by the purple 
streak in the east, which announced his 
approach. This was the morning of the 
fourth day since I had parted from my 
companions. I had made but one meal, 
and the cravings of hunger were becoming 
excessive. I looked round, when I reach- 
ed the edge of the prairie, but saw no- 
thing ; I looked through the bottom of 
forest, but no game was visible. I stretch- 
ed out my leg, looked at the leather 
legging which covered it, and considered 
whether it was easy of digestion. I felt 
it ; it was rather tough ; so I determined 



248 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

to keep on, and wait till night, before I 
proceeded to extremities. 

Just then, I caught sight of a turkey, 
leading a troop to take an airing in the 
prairie. I whizzed a bullet after him; 
his wing dropped and dragged, and I com- 
menced a hot pursuit. But though I had 
injured his wing, I had not damaged his 
legs, and after following him for nearly 
fifteen minutes, I threw myself down com- 
pletely exhausted. The rest of the gang, 
taking advantage of the diversion created 
in their favour, had disappeared among 
the trees. I gave up all hopes of again 
finding them, and wandered slowly along 
the edge of the woods. As I was wind- 
ing my way through the trees, I heard a 
loud click above me, and observed a large 
red squirrel springing from one limb to 
another, of a bur-oak. As he caught 
sight of me, he darted round the trunk 
and peered out, with about an inch of 
bis head, to take an observation, I was 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 249 

hungry, and this cowardly manoeuvre made 
me angry. I determined, that have that 
squirrel I woiildj if I spent the whole day 
in shooting at him. I rested my rifle 
against the trunk of a tree, and after a long 
aim, fired; the bullet dashed the head of 
the little animal to pieces, and whirled 
him some twenty feet off in the air. 

I had lost my knife on the day previous, 
but with the assistance of a nail which I 
found in my pouch, I skinned my prize, 
and impaling him upon the point of a spit 
made of a dry stick, stuck it in the ground 
before the fire to roast. While the pro- 
cess of cooking was going forward, a flock 
of screaming parroquets came whirling 
through the trees ; but upon catching 
sight of me, they determined to stop and 
see what I was about. They accordingly 
alighted upon a dead tree directly above 
me, casting side-looks down upon my roast, 
and from the joyous chattering that they 
kept up, no doubt were congratulating 
22* 



250 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

each other, upon having called, just in 
time to be invited to breakfast. But I had 
a meal in store for them, of a very different 
description ; for after hovering round 
under the tree, for some time, I contrived 
to get three of them in a range^ and fired. 
My bullet missed, and the flock whirled 
off, though I could hear their voices raised 
in a clamorous outcry, at my want of civi- 
lity^ long after they had disappeared 
among the trees. 

I despatched my breakfast with a raven- 
ous appetite, and taking with me the skin 
of the animal, to serve as a future meal in 
case of extremity, I continued my course 
until it was afternoon. However, I was 
now becoming perplexed. I thought to 
have reached the settlements before this. 
Still I saw no signs of human habitation, 
and I began to yield to the idea, which,, 
strange as it may seem, invariably fastens 
itself upon persons, when wandering, be- 
wildered through these regions. I thought 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 251 

that the sun had got turned and was set- 
ting in the east. For some time this idea 
was strong ; but I remembered the almost 
parting words of an old hunter, who ac- 
companied our party. ^^ Look ye/' said 
he, " you straggle so much from the party, 
that some day or other you will not be 
able to find it again. Then, all you have 
to do, is to keep straight away for the east. 
It will be sure to bring you right in the 
end. But remember one thing — never 
get bothered. When the sun rises, strike 
to the east, and don't do, as many have 
done when puzzled ; don't think that the 
sun rises or sets wrong: for if you do, 
you will go to the d 1." I was becom- 
ing bewildered, and I remembered this 
advice, just at the time when it was most 
needful. So I turned my back towards 
what I had been positive was the east, and 
travelled in the direction, which I was 
equally positive was the west. 

I had continued along the prairie for 



252 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

some hourS; when suddenly I struck into 
a wide trail. There were four paths run- 
ning along side by side, all evidently 
much travelled, and bearing prints of 
recent hoofs. While I was examining 
them narrowly, I caught the trace of a 
wagon wheel. New strength seemed to 
course through my limbs at this discovery, 
and I bounded along the path, as swiftly as 
if I had just started, upon a fresh and joy- 
ous journey. I continued in the trail for 
several hours. On my right, was a tall, 
dense bottom of timber; and here and there, 
through the branches, I could perceive 
the waters of a mighty river. I instantly 
supposed this to be the Missouri; that I 
had struck the trail which led to Lea- 
venworth, and that by continuing in this 
direction, I would be able to reach it be- 
fore nightfall. I walked swiftly forward 
for some time; but still I could see no- 
thing that I recognized. If it was the 
road to Leavenworth I had passed it be- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 233 

fore, and ought to recall the landmarks: 
but here all was new. As I was looking 
around I caught sight of a black speck 
moving over the distant path, which I had 
already passed. It came nearer and nearer. 
I could discern that it was a horseman. 
It might be one of the officers from the 
garrison, and I slackened my pace for him 
to come up ; but as he came nearer I dis- 
covered that he was an Indian. I was 
then certain that I must be on the banks 
of the Konzas ; that I had struck too far to 
the south, and had reached it before its 
junction with the Missouri. I had been 
longing feverishly for the sight of a human 
being; yet no sooner did I behold one, 
than my first movement was to await his 
approach, with my finger upon my trigger. 
When he drew near, he held up the palm 
of his hand, in token of friendship, and 
galloped directly up to me. He was a 
fine-looking man of the Konza tribe, appa- 
rently not above thirty — wrapped in a blue 



254 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

blanket^ armed with a rifle, and mounted 
upon a black pony. He alighted; struck 
fire, and lit his pipe, for a smoke. From 
that moment we were friends. I learned 
from him, that the river near, was the 
Konzas, and that it would be daylight be- 
fore I could reach the nearest abode of a 
white man. As soon as our truce was set- 
tled, my Indian friend mounted, and left 
me to follow on foot as well as I was able. 
I was wearied and hungry, and this want 
of civility did not increase the mildness 
of my disposition. I trudged after him ; 
while he occasionally thumped his little 
nag into a trot, casting a look behind, to 
see whether I could contrive to keep up 
with him. This vexed me, and I began 
to cast around, for the means of paying the 
fellow for his ill breeding. He at last 
checked his horse — reached out his rifle 
with the lock broken, and wished me to 
mend it. He then handed me a horn, 
without a grain of powder in it, and wish- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 255 

ed me to fill it. I took the gun, and blew 
into the muzzle; the air passed freely 
through the touch-hole. ^^Ha!'' thought 
I, ^^it is not charged; so Mr. Indian I 
have you on the hip.'' I quietly reached 
it to him, and he, seeing that I was not 
disposed to put it in order, took it and 
said nothing more about the matter. 

We proceeded in silence until we reach- 
ed the edge of a narrow stream, about two 
feet in depth, which ran across the route. 
Here the Indian paused, by which means 
I came up with him, and signified my wish 
to mount his horse to cross the water. He 
demurred at first, but I persisted ; I had 
a loaded rifle ; his was empty : so I gave 
myself airs, and ^^ spoke as one having 
authority.'' At last, though with evident 
reluctance, he acceded to my request, and 
in another moment I was behind him on 
the horse, and upon the opposite side of 
the brook. I had been mounted only for 
a few moments; but I found the transition 



256 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

far from disagreeable. I was wearied with 
walking, and there was something highly 
pleasing in travelling upon other legs than 
my own. I therefore quietly retained my 
seat; and though my companion halted the 
horse, for the purpose of my dismounting, 
I was so satisfied with my situation, that I 
pretended not to understand his meaning, 
and listened to his words, and viewed his 
gestures with an appearance of the great- 
est stolidity. At length, he determined 
to endeavour to shake me off. For this 
purpose he wriggled and twisted in his 
seat. I, however, clung still more closely 
to him ; and the only one that appeared 
annoyed by the action, was the horse, who 
expressed his displeasure by kicking up. 

The Indian finding this unsuccessful, 
increased the speed of his nag to a gal- 
lop — but in vain; I was as securely fixed 
behind, as the Old Man of the Sea, to the 
shoulders of Sinbad. At length he gave 
up, and checking his horse sprang off, 



INr)I\N SKETCHES. 257 

As he did this I sHd forward into his seat. I 
felt some twinges respecting my ungrateful 
conduct, but my weariness overcame them. 

My next object was to gain something 
to eat; for notwithstanding the squirrel, I 
felt a vacuum within, that required filling. 
I observed that my fellow traveller car- 
ried a bundle of dried venison, slung from 
his shoulder. I accordingly signified to 
him that I had eaten nothing for two 
days — at the same time pointing to the 
venison: but the fellow was obstinate; he 
shook his head, and afterwards whenever 
I started the subject, he looked in a dif- 
ferent direction. Finding that fair means 
were of no avail, I determined to try 
what foul could do. As I was mounted, 
I resolved that he should think I intended 
to scamper ofi^with his horse: so I thump- 
ed my rifle against his ribs, and scoured 
along the trail at full gallop. 

The moment I started, the Indian fol- 
lowed, with a speed that almost equalled 

VOL. II. 23 



258 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

that of the pony; but unfortunately for 
himself, his wind was soon exhausted. He 
then began to think of a compromise, and 
at last with much reluctance, loosed a piece 
of the deer's flesh, and held it up towards 
me, at the same time signifying by his 
gestures, that if I would stop, he would 
give me a portion. This was all that I 
desired; and pulling in the horse, I re- 
ceived the venison, and dismounted — re- 
linquishing the nag to his owner. He, how- 
ever, thinking the treaty between us, not 
yet sufficiently ratified, immediately lit his 
pipe, and passed it to me for a second 
smoke. We then set out, and at dusk 
reached a small wood: here the Indian 
hobbled his horse, and throwing a few 
sticks together, he kindled a fire. He 
then oifered me a small piece of venison, 
which he had broiled upon the coals; after 
which he drew his blanket round him, and 
stretched himself at full length on one side 
of the fire, while I threw myself across 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 259 

my rifle, on the other. I must have slept 
for an hour. When I awoke it was in- 
tensely cold, the fire having burnt very 
low. My companion lay exactly as I left 
him when going to sleep; he did not seem 
to notice that the fire was expiring, nor did 
the cold seem to affect him. 

I rose up and stood over him ; but he 
did not move. I then stirred him with my 
foot, and shouted to him — at the same 
time motioning to him, to assist in collect- 
ing wood to keep alive the fire. He ap- 
parently was aware of my object, for all I 
could elicit, was a grunt; nor would he 
even open his eyes to look at me. So in 
no very pleasant humour, I went in search 
of fuel, taking my rifle with me. 

I had not gone far, before I came upon 
his little devil of a horse. I was so much 
vexed with the master, that I could not 
help bestowing a thwack upon the animal, 
who came smelling up to me, with the air 
of an old acquaintance. With a loud snort, 



260 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

and a half attempt at a kick^ he hobbled 
ofF^ as well as the confined state of his legs 
would let him. 

Hard of hearing, and difficult to rouse^ 
as the Indian had been, when I attempted 
it,, no sooner was the tramping sound of 
the horse's hoofs heard, as he crashed over 
the dead brushwood, than he sprang to his 
feet and came flying towards me with the 
swiftness of a deer. 

I have but little doubt, that he thought 
I had served him an Indian trick, and was 
scouring off through the bushes with his 
nag. As it was, when he found him safe, 
he was for returning to stretch himself be- 
fore the fire. I however arrested him, and 
motioned to him to assist in carrying a 
large limb to our sleeping place; which 
he did with evident reluctance; for he 
seemed to possess in a high degree the 
Indian aversion to labour. 

About midnight he awakened me, and 
signified that it was time to be on the 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 261 

move. He first unhobbled his horse, and 
led him to the bank of the river, which 
was clayey and very steep, for the pur- 
pose of watering him. Here a violent 
contest took place between the nag and 
the Indian: the first being afraid to ven- 
ture down the slippery descent, and the 
master endeavouring by coaxing and kick- 
ing to induce him to advance. He had 
planted his feet in the very edge of the 
bank, and although his nose and head were 
pulled out to a horizontal line, by the 
efforts of the Indian, the rest of his body 
was as immoveable, as one of the trees 
around. The Indian then made signs to 
me to assist him, for he seemed determin- 
ed that the horse should drink, whether 
thirsty or not. I did not feel in a very 
good humour with him, but as he seemed 
to wish it; I bestowed a few hearty thwacks 
upon the hinder parts of the animal, which 
seemed only to increase his desire to re- 
trograde, instead of advancing. Finding 
23* 



262 INDIAN SKETCHEg, 

this of no avail, I seized a small saplings 
and placing it under his belly, made use 
of it as a lever, to press him sidewise over 
the bank. The pressure against his ribs, 
drove him within a foot of the edge. I 
placed the pole beyond the verge of the 
bank, and again made use of it as a lever; 
it pushed him still nearer. He made a 
violent effort to resist; but just then the 
Indian jerked his little halter violently, 
and over the horse went, treading upon 
the toes of his master, and sousing heels 
over head in the river, where he swam up 
and down, puffing and snorting. Several 
times he attempted to climb the bank ; but 
rolled back, and floundered in the water. 
The Indian was now alarmed lest he should 
be drowned. But he at last succeeded in 
helping him up the steep, and being satis- 
fied that his thirst was completely quench- 
ed, he once more hobbled him, and then 
signified that we should move forward. 
Before starting, however, he took from 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 263 

his shoulders his load of venison, and 
hung it upon a tree. I then followed him 
silently, though I could not imagine why 
he had left his venison, or why he travel- 
led on foot, when he had a horse to carry 
him. We soon came to a river, across 
which, though full of ice, we waded, and 
then started forward on a trail which led 
through a wood. Occasionally I took the 
lead; but the trail grew so indistinct, that 
I was obliged to give place to my com- 
panion, who always kept on without hesi- 
tation. 

We had travelled about twelve miles^ 
making many circuits and windings, and 
striking from one trail to another, until we 
emerged from the wood, and I found my- 
self again near the bank of the Konzas 
river. Before me was a large house, with 
a court- yard in front. I sprang with joy 
through the unhung gate, and ran to the 
door. It was open ; I shouted ; my voice 
echoed through die rooms : but there was 



264 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

no answer. I walked in. The doors of 
the inner chambers were swinging from 
their hinges, and long grass was growing 
through the crevices of the floor. While 
I stood gazing around, an owl flitted by, 
and dashed out of an unglazed window. 
Again I shouted ; but there was no answer : 
the place w^as desolate and deserted. I 
afterwards learned that this house had 
been built for the residence of the chief of 
the Konza tribe, but that the ground upon 
which it was situated, having been disco- 
vered to be within a tract, granted to 
some other tribe, the chief had deserted it, 
and it had been allowed to fall to ruin. 

My guide waited patiently until I 
finished my examination, and then again 
we pressed forward. Several times I was 
deceived by the howling of wolves, which 
I mistook for the baying of house-dogs ; and 
when I was passing through some dark 
skirt of timber, and expected to come 
upon a human habitation, I w^ould be dis- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 265 

appointed^ by seeing my guide once more 
launch out into the open prairie. Seve- 
ral times too^ my hopes were excited by a 
light, glimmering in the darkness, which 
upon coming up, I would discover to pro- 
ceed from the trunk of a tree, which had 
caught lire from the burning of the prairies. 

Thus we kept on until near daylight, 
when we emerged from a thick forest, 
and came suddenly upon a small hamlet. 
The barking of several dogs, who came 
flying out to meet us, convinced me that 
this time I was not mistaken. A light was 
shining through the crevices of a log cabin ; 
I knocked at the door with a violence, that 
might have awakened one of the seven 
sleepers. 

^^Who dere — and vot de devil you 
vant?'' screamed a little cracked voice 
from within. 

It sounded like music to me. I stated 
my troubles. The door was opened ; a 
head, garnished with a red night- cap, was 



266 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

thrust out, and after a little parley, I was 
admitted into the bed-room of the man, 
his Indian squaw, and a host of children. 
As, however, it was the only room in the 
house, it was also the kitchen. I had 
gone so long without food, that notwith- 
standing what I had eaten, the gnawings 
of hunger were excessive, and I had no 
sooner mentioned my wants, than a fire 
was kindled, and in ten minutes a meal (I 
don^t exactly know whether to call it 
breakfast, dinner, or supper) of hot cakes, 
venison, honey, and coffee, was placed be- 
fore me, and disappeared with the rapidity 
of lightning. The squaw having seen me 
fairly started, returned to her couch. 
From the owner of the cabin, I learned 
that I was now at the Konza Agency, and 
that he was the blacksmith of the place. 

About sunrise I was awakened from a 
sound sleep, upon a bear-skin, by a vio- 
ent knocking at the door. It was my In- 
dian guide. He threw out broad hints 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 267 

respecting the service he had rendered 
me, and the presents he deserved. This 
I could not deny ; but I had nothing to 
give. I soon found out, however, that 
his wants were moderate, and that a small 
present of powder would satisfy him ; so I 
filled his horn, and he left the cabin appa- 
rently well pleased. 

In a short time I left the house, and met 
the Konza Agent, General Clark, a tall, 
thin, soldier-like man, arrayed in an Indian 
hunting shirt, and an old fox-skin cap. 

He received me cordially, and I re- 
mained with him all day, during which 
time he talked upon metaphysics ; discus- 
sed politics, and fed me upon sweet pota- 
toes. In speaking of my guide, I found that 
he had departed after receiving a large 
present from the Agent, to whom he stated 
that he had eaten nothing for twenty four 
hours. I spoke of the deers-flesh he had 
left behind. 

^^The lying rascal !'' said the General, 
^Mie said he was starving.'^ 



268 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

I spoke of the Indian pony. 

" What colour was he V^ asked the Ge- 
neral. 

" Black 5 with short mane, and crop 
ears.'' 

^' My God ! that's my horse,'' exclaim- 
ed he, " stolen four days ago. What a 
d d villain that Konza is !" 

At night the General furnished me with 
a mule, and kindly accompanied me to the 
garrison, which was forty miles distant, 
and which wx reached on the following 
morning a little hefore daylight. 

As I passed one of the out-houses in 
riding up to the cantonment, I perceived 
an Indian leaning against one of the door- 
posts. ^^Ugh!" exclaimed he, starting 
forward ; and the next moment my hand 
was grasped in the cordial, but iron gripe 
of the lotan chief. 

The party had reached the garrison on 
the evening previous ; and the whole wild 
band, both Pawnees and Otoes, were now 
under the protection of the whites. 



INDIAN SKETCHES, 269 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Assembling of Council. — Council, 

Messengers had been sent in every 
direction, to summon the neighbouring 
tribes, to meet their ancient enemy, the 
Pawnees, in council ; and the day arrived 
upon which these rival nations, who had 
never before met except in deadly hostili- 
ty, were to mingle in peaceful ceremonial. 

The different tribes had been for seve- 
ral days collecting round the garrison, and 
had pitched their wild camps in the ad- 
jacent groves. There had always existed a 
bitter hostility, between many of the civi- 
lized and savage tribes. For this reason, 
especial care had been taken, to keep them 
separate, until by the influence of the 
council, this cessation of hostilities, should 
be converted into a permanent peace. 

VOL. II. 24 



270 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Early in the morning, the loud report 
of a piece of artillery bellowed through 
the woods, echoing in the deep forest upon 
the opposite side of the Missouri. This 
was the signal for the assembling of the 
council. In a few moments the warriors 
of the different tribes, were seen leaving 
their camps, and moving for the place ap- 
pointed, beneath several of the large trees, 
in front of the quarters of the officers. 

First came the Delawares, dressed for 
the occasion, glittering with trinkets ; their 
silver ornaments glistening in the sunshine, 
and their gay ribands fluttering in the 
wind. They were a gaudy, effeminate- 
looking race. Yet beneath all their frip- 
pery of dress, lurked that indomitable 
courage, and that thirst for glory, which 
not even intemperance, and their inter- 
course with the whites could destroy. 
Behind the band, followed the proud Dela- 
ware warrior Sou-wah-nock. It was he 
that first kindled the torch of war, between 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 271 

his own tribe and the Pawnees^ and led 
the expedition that sacked the Pawnee 
village. He was without ornament, ex- 
cept a heavy silver plate, resting upon his 
calico hunting-shirt. He was not tall, but 
muscular, and his eye was as searching as 
an eagle's. There was a proud curl upon 
his lip ; and withal, an iron firmness 
marked his whole deportment. He seem- 
ed to think that the whole weight of 
anger of the Pawnee nation, was about to 
descend upon himself, but was ready to 
meet it. He did not deny that he had 
incited his nation to the outrage, upon the 
Pawnee town. Nay, he gloried in it ; 
and was now ready to meet them in 
friendship, or as enemies. He knew that 
his nation looked up to him, and deter- 
mined that no act of his should ever sink 
him in their opinion. 

After the Delawares, followed the 
Shawanese, headed by the same portly per- 
sonage who had greeted us when we en- 



272 INDIAN SKETCHES, 

tered as strangers^ into the Indian country. 
The same enormous pair of black spec- 
tacles were seated astride of his nose, and 
from his whole appearance, it is probable 
that he had not undressed from the time 
that we had last saw him, some four months 
previous. At his heels followed the same 
little potatoe-headed Indian, who had also 
met us on the same occasion. Behind them, 
came the gaudy warriors of the tribe, 
reeking with painty shining with tin orna- 
ments, and flaunting with ribands. *These 
seated themselves beside the Delawares. 

Then followed the rest of the migrating 
tribes ; the Peorias, the Pian kasha ws, the 
ragged Pottawattomies, and the lazy Kick- 
apoos, who all in turn seated themselves, 
among their civilized brethren. 

They had scarcely become stationary, 
when the Otoes made their appearance. 
They moved in Indian-file over the green, 
headed by their sagacious old chief the 
lotan. They walked swiftly and silently, 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 273 

and ranged themselves at a little distance 
from the more civilized, though less noble 
band, which had already collected. A 
few moments more, and the wild troop of 
Pawnees were seen approaching. They 
were muffled in their shaggy robes, and 
marched forward with a heavy though 
smothered tread. In front of them strode 
the giant form of the Wild Horse ; his 
savage features not rendered any the less 
hideous by a drunken frolic, in which he 
had been engaged on the day previous. 
His long hair hung tangled round his 
head and shoulders. He wore no orna- 
ments, and his body as usual was smeared 
with red ochre. The whole of his enor- 
mous chest was bared, and exposed to the 
cold chilling air of a frosty November 
morning. Behind him followed the grace- 
ful, though stern form of the I^ong Hair. 
He walked to his allotted place, without 
appearing to notice the congregated band 
of civilized Indians. There were several 
24* 



274 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Other chiefs in the train^ and after them 
followed the whole savage herd^ from the 
four Pawnee villages. 

These stationed themselves directly op- 
posite the Delawares. Stern looks passed 
between them, and burning feelings were 
at work in their hearts. There they sat 
brooding over past wrongs. Enemies from 
the time that the Delawares had left the 
eastern states^ they were now assembled 
to crush their bitter feelings, to put an 
end to that dark hatred which had hither- 
to existed between them, and to view each 
other, in a strange and novel light — that 
of friends. A total revulsion was to take 
place in their feelings. Old habits, old 
associations, were to be blotted out; deep- 
rooted prejudices wers to be removed, and 
hands which befoi'e had clenched each 
other, only in the death-grapple, were 
now to be clasped in the warm pressure of 
friendship. 

Several days before the commencement 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 275 

of the meeting, a trifling incident was 
near putting an end to the incipient peace. 
The little tribe of Delawares., who mus- 
ter but a hundred and fifty warriors at 
most, had always considered themselves 
the source from whence sprang the numer- 
ous and powerful tribes scattered through- 
out the whole of North America. It is 
probable that this opinion is founded upon 
some tradition still current among them, 
respecting the power and antiquity of 
their forefathers. These, were the Lenni 
Lenape, who, coming up from the south, 
seated themselves upon the eastern shores, 
and were afterwards known to the whites 
by the name of Delawares. They arc 
among tlie oldest of the tribes of which 
tradition speaks. The remnant of this 
race, in pursuance of their fatherly dog- 
ma, had now appropriated to themselves 
the title of great grandfiithers to the whole 
Indian race. Among the host of their 
descendants were numbered those most 



276 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

iinfilial of all great grandchildren^ the re- 
bellious Pawnees. Notwithstanding the 
injunctions of obedience to parents, which 
have been laid down in all quarters of the 
globe, this nation had been unwilling to 
submit to the fatherly corrections, bestow- 
ed upon their tribe by their great ances- 
tors. Nor is it to be wondered at; for 
they consisted, in quietly killing and scalp- 
ing, all who fell in their way, and helping 
them forward in their journey towards 
the bright hunting grounds — a theme upon 
which an Indian is for ever harping, dur- 
ing the whole period of his probation here. 
In addition to the bitter feelings created 
by these hostilities, the Pawnees look- 
ed upon this little handful of warriors 
with the most sovereign contempt. Like 
many other undutiful children, they were 
ashamed of their great grandparents, and 
denied that they had ever sprung from 
the " Delaware dogs,'' or that a drop of 
Delaware blood was mingled with that 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 277 

which coursed through their veins. They 
conchided their expression of ill will, by 
refusing to commence the council, if they 
were to be looked upon as the descendants 
of that race. The Delawares, on the other 
hand, were equally obstinate. They in- 
sisted on adopting the refractory Pawnees 
as their great grandchildren, and that 
the latter should acknowledge them as 
their great grandparents. 

For a short time the commissioner was 
perplexed. But at length, privately as- 
sembling the chiefs of the Pawnees, he 
endeavoured to overcome their prejudices 
by means of fair words, and finally suc- 
ceeded in satisfying their scrupulous pride. 
He begged that for the sake of peace, the 
Delawares should be humoured, although 
he acknowledged to the Pawnees, that 
he knew there was no ground for their 
claim of relationship. At the same time, 
he added, it was so absurd in itself that no 
person would for a moment credit, that so 



278 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

brave and powerful a people as the Paw- 
nees, should have sprung from so paltry a 
stock as the Delawares. The chiefs smiled 
grimly as they received the pleasing unc- 
tion of flattery, and at length consented, 
though with wry faces, to submit to the 
degrading appellation until the council 
should be ended, and the treaty ratified. 
They then threw out sage hints, which if 
translated literally, would amount nearly 
to the same thing, as sending the Dela- 
wares to the devil. 

These preliminaries had been settled 
before the day of council. The great 
grandchildren, reversing the usual order 
of things, no longer disowned their great 
grandfathers; though farther than the 
mere title, there was no display of kindly 
feeling. The two bands sat opposite each 
other, with the same grim expression of 
countenances, that might have been ex- 
pected from so many wild cats. Each 
seemed fearful to make a single friendly 
step in advance, lest he should compro- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 279 

mise the dignity of his tribe. After a 
short time the commissioner rose up, and 
stated the object of the meeting: — that 
war had long enough, been raging among 
them; and that the different tribes had 
now assembled for the purpose of uniting 
themselves in the bonds of friendship. He 
then entered explicitly, into the conditions 
of the intended peace. 

When he had ended, different warriors 
of each tribe addressed the council. They 
all professed the greatest friendship for 
their enemies, and poured out very peni- 
tential speeches, bewailing their past trans- 
gressions, and winding up, by throwing 
the whole blame, upon the shoulders of 
some neighbouring tribe. 

For a short time the potentates of seve- 
ral little nations, which had barely inha- 
bitants enough to hang a name upon, eased 
their own importance by speaking. The 
Delaware warrior Sou-wah-nock then rose. 
He spoke of the destruction of the Grand 



280 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

Pawnee village. He did not deny his 
agency in the deed. "The Pawnees/' 
said he, "met my young men upon the 
hunt, and slew them. I have had my 
revenge. Let them look at their town. 
I found it filled with lodges: I left it a 
heap of ashes.'' The whole of his speech 
was of the same bold, unflinching charac- 
ter, and was closed in true Indian style. 
''I am satisfied," said he, "I am not 
afraid to avow the deeds that I have done, 
for I am Sou-wah-nock, a Delaware war- 
rior." When he had finished, he pre- 
sented a string of wampum to the Wild 
Horse, as being the most distinguished 
warrior of the Pawnee nation. When the 
slight bustle of giving, and receiving the 
present, had been finished, the chief of 
the Republican village rose to answer his 
warrior enemy. 

His speech abounded with those wild 
bursts of eloquence, which peculiarly mark 
the savages of North America, and con- 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 281 

eluded in a manner^ which spoke highly 
of his opinion of what a warrior should be. 
" I have promised to the Delawares/' said 
he, " the friendship of my tribe. I re- 
spect my promise, and I cannot lie, for I 
am a Pawnee chief.'^ 

When the Delawares had spoken, our 
little fat friend from the Shawnee village 
rose. After frequent expectorations, he 
at length succeeded in clearing a passage 
for the escape of his voice. He contrived 
with great difficulty to wheeze through a 
speech of about ten minutes in length. 
There appeared to be but two ideas in the 
whole of the address; and when he had 
thoroughly belaboured one, he most assi- 
duously returned to the other. After 
repeating them again and again, with the 
addition of a new dress for each time, he 
seated himself, perfectly convinced that 
he had thrown a great deal of light upon 
the subject. 

There was a strange contrast between 

VOL. II. 25 



282 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the deportment of the civilized, and savage 
Indians. The first, from long intercourse 
with the whites, had acquired many of 
their habits. Their iron gravity had 
yielded to a more mercurial temperament. 
Even in the midst of the council they gave 
free vent to their merriment, and uttered 
their gibes and jests. They were con- 
stantly on the move, coming and going to 
and from the place of assembly, and pay- 
ing but little heed to the deliberations. 

The Pawnees sat unmoved, listening in 
silence and with profound attention, to 
the addresses of those who spoke. They 
rarely uttered a word, and the only smile 
which curled their lips, w^as one of scorn at 
the frivolous deportment of their enemies. 

From early in the morning, till near 
sunset, the council continued. They 
then adjourned until the following day; 
in order that a few little potentates, who 
considered themselves the luminaries of 
their respective villages, might receive 
an opportunity to display their eloquence. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 283 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Pmvnee Dance. — Delaware Visiters. 

In the evening it was determined, to 
bring the Delawares and the Pawnees to- 
gether as friends, for as yet they had held 
no intercourse. A large fire was accor- 
dingly built before the out-houses in which 
the Pawnees had taken up their quarters, 
and the wild troop sallied forth, prepared 
to commence one of their national dances, 
round the flame. A group of eight or ten 
savage looking fellows, seated themselves 
a little distance oif, furnished with a drum 
and rattle. They commenced a song, ac- 
companied by their rude instruments. For 
a time there was no movement among the 
Pawnees, who stood huddled in a large, 
condensed crowd. Suddenly one of them, 
a tall muscular savage, sprang into the 

m ddle of the circle, and gazed around 



284 INDIAN SKETCHES. ••• • 

with a hurried air, then with a loud yell 
he commenced his dance. He jumped 
slowly round the fire, with a kind of zig- 
zag step : at every leap uttering a deep 
guttural ^^Ugh!'^ occasionally accompa- 
nied v/ith a rattling sound, from the very 
bottom of his lungs. His comrades looked 
on silently, but with intense interest. 
They were a savage group ; face and body 
begrimed with paint ; their fierce features 
reflecting the flame, their teeth bared, and 
every brow knotted into a frown. Head 
rose behind head, and gleaming eyes were 
seen peering through the living mass, until 
those farthest off" were hid by the dark- 
ness. 

When the first warrior had made two 
or three circles about the fire, a second 
left the crowd and sprang forward in the 
dance ; a third followed, and a fourth, 
until about twenty were flitting swiftly 
round, and joining in the song. Occa- 
sionally they stopped short in their course^ 



INDIAN SKETCHES. . 285 

and uttered a loud shrill yell, which was 
taken up by the whole surrounding horde, 
until the very trees echoed to the sound. 
At one moment they moved swiftly for- 
ward, and at another their steps were slow 
and wearied. As we watched their fierce, 
earnest faces, the forms of some wrapped 
in shaggy robes, the painted bodies of 
others, writhing in the dance, and then 
turned to the silent, and equally savage 
group of lookers on, it required no great 
stretch of the imagination, to fancy them 
a host of evil spirits, busied in fiendish 
revel. 

While they were thus engaged, the 
crowd separated and revealed a Dela- 
ware watching their movements. Behind 
him were about twenty more of the same 
tribe. No sooner had the Pawnees caught 
sight of them, than they retired. Old 
prejudices could not be rooted out at once, 
and though the dancers remained at their 
employment, the rest of the tribe drew off 
25* 



286 ^ INDIAN SKETCHED. 

in a sullen and haughty group, and s'ood 
watching the countenances of their quon- 
dam enemies. 

This continued during the whole even- 
ing. As it grew late, group after group 
of the Pawnees left the fire, and retired 
into their dwelling. The Delawares soon 
followed their example, and although their 
visit had continued for several hours, I 
fear it did but little towards removing 
that ancient venom, which, in spite of 
their apparent friendship, was rankling in 
their hearts. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 287 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Konza Council. White Plume. Tappage 

Ch ief. — Treaty. — Interpreter. — Departure. 

On the following morning, the loud 
report of a piece of artillery announced 
the hour of council. Once more the dif- 
ferent tribes left their respective encamp- 
ments, and assembled at the place of meet- 
ing. Scarcely, however, had they col- 
lected, before a long train of warriors 
were seen stringing over the distant prai- 
rie — making for the cantonment. They 
approached swiftly until they reached 
the quarters of the officers. They were 
clothed in white blankets; each man car- 
ried a rifle. They were a band from the 
Konza nation, come to attend the council, 
and settle the terms of peace. In front of 
the troop was the White Plume, enve- 
loped in a large drab-coloured over coat. 



288 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

This piece of dress deprived him alto- 
gether of that dignity of appearance which 
had marked him upon our first meeting. 
He now bore a strong resemblance in 
form and gracefulness, to a walking hogs- 
head. However, he seemed perfectly 
satisfied with his attire: and in truth, I 
believe there was scarcely a Pawnee who 
did not envy him the possession of this 
cumbersome article of apparel. 

The appearance of this chief, and of a 
delegation from his tribe, had been anx- 
iously expected. They were more ve- 
nomous in their hate against the Pawnees, 
than any other of the neighbouring In- 
dians, and their hostility had been marked 
by deeds of a more bloody character. The 
Pawnees sat in silence, but with looks of 
smothered ferocity, as they saw them ap- 
proach. However, they evinced no hostile 
feelings, other than those conveyed by 
their glances. 

After a short conference with their 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 289 

agent^ the Konzas withdrew from the 
green, and encamped in the prairie, at a 
few hundred yards' distance. The council 
then proceeded. The different chiefs and 
warriors of the small tribes of the vicinity, 
addressed the Pawnees — all agreeing to 
bury their hostility, and regard them as 
friends. These offers were most thank- 
fully received by the Pawnees, though 
one of them afterwards remarked to the 
interpreter, ^^ that they had now made 
peace with several nations with whom 
they had never been at war, and of whom 
they had never heard, until they rose to 
address them in council." This was little 
to be wondered at; as many of them were 
most pitifully represented ; and two or 
three little, pursy, short-winded fellows, 
dressed in dirty calico, and bedraggled 
ribands, composed the whole of their de- 
legation, and probably the whole of their 
tribe. 

The deliberations lasted during the 



290 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

whole day: for as these Indians had no 
particular injuries to dwell upon, they 
confined themselves to things in general ; 
and as this was a subject that would bear 
to be expatiated upon, every man conti- 
nued his address until he had exhausted 
his wind. The Pawnees listened with 
exemplary patience; though I doubt if 
there was one who regretted when the 
last speaker had finished. 

The morning following, the Pawnees 
and Konzas had a meeting to settle their 
difiiculties. A large chamber in the gar- 
rison had been selected for the purpose. 
About ten o'clock in the forenoon they 
assembled. The two bands seated them- 
selves upon long wooden benches, on op- 
posites sides of the room. There was a 
strong contrast between them. The Kon- 
zas had a proud, noble air, and their 
white blankets as they hung in loose and 
graceful folds around them, had the effect 
of classic drapery. 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 291 

The Pawnees had no pride of dress. 
They were wrapped in shaggy robes, and 
sat in silence — wild and uncouth in their 
appearance, with scowling brows, and 
close pressed mouths. 

At length the speaking commenced. 
First rose the White Plume. He had 
boasted to his tribe, that he would relate 
such things, in his speech, as should cause 
the Pawnees to wince. With true Indian 
cunning, at first, in order that he might 
conciliate the favourable opinion of those 
present, he spoke in praise of the whites 
— expressing his high opinion of them. 
After this, he gradually edged off, into a 
philippic against the Pawnee nation, re- 
presenting them as a mean and miserly 
race — perfidious, and revengeful. There 
was a hushed silence among his own peo- 
ple as he spoke, and ev^ery eye was fast- 
ened upon the grim group opposite. The 
White Plume went on; and still the deep- 
est silence reigned through the room : that 



292 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

of the Konzas arose from apprehension : the 
silence of the Pawnees was the hushed 
brooding of fury. 

The chief of the Tappage village was 
sitting directly opposite the speaker; his 
eye was dark as midnight: his teeth were 
bared, and both hands were tightly grasp- 
ed round his own throat; but he remain- 
ed silent until the speech had finished. 
When the White Plume had taken his 
seat, half a dozen Pawnees sprang to their 
feet; but the Tappage chief waved them 
down: three times did he essay to speak, 
and as often, did he fail. He rubbed his 
hand across his throat, to keep down his an- 
ger; then stepping out, and fixing his eye 
on that of the Konza chief — in the calm, 
quiet voice of smothered rage, he com- 
menced his answer: he proceeded; he 
grew more and more excited — indulging 
a vein of biting irony. The White 
Plume quailed, and his eye drooped, be- 
neath the searching, scornful glance of his 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 293 

wild enemy. Still the Pawnee went on : 
he represented the injury which first kin- 
dled the war between the two nations. 
^^My young men/' said he, ^^ visited the 
Konzas as friends: the Konzas treated 
them as enemies. They were strangers in 
the Konza tribe, and the Konzas fell upon 
them, and slew them — and concealed their 
death.'" He then entered into the parti- 
culars of the quarrel, which unfortunately 
for the Konzas, were strongly against 
them. The chief of the latter tribe, re- 
ceived the answer with great philosophy ; 
nor did he attempt to utter any thing in 
reply. Perhaps, too, he did not wish to 
invite a second attack, from so rough a 
quarter. When the Pawnee had finished, 
the commissioner interposed, and after a 
short time, harmony was restored, and 
several of the inferior chiefs made their 
harangues. They were of a more calm 
and conciliating nature, and gradually 
tended to soothe the inflamed feelings of 
VOL. II. 26 



294 INDIAN sketches; 

their foes. The council lasted until sun- 
set^ when the terms of the treaty were 
finally adjusted. 

On this occasion I was made sensible of 
the justice of the complaint generally 
made, by those who have had public nego- 
tiations with the savage tribes, of the insuf- 
ficiency of the interpreters through whom 
they are obliged to receive the sentiments 
and language of the Indians. They are 
with few exceptions, ignorant and illite- 
rate. Those we employed, spoke a wretch- 
ed French patois, and a still more wretched 
English. On such, even the high imagin- 
ative vein, the poetical thought, which run 
through Indian eloquence, is entirely lost. 
There was not a savage who addressed us, 
who did not at times, clothe his ideas in 
beautiful attire, and make use of wild and 
vStriking similes, drawn from the stores of 
his only instructress, nature. This we as- 
certained from some persons present of cul- 
tivated minds, and who were well versed 



INDIAN SKETCHES. 295 

in the Indian tongues. As to the inter- 
preters, they reduced every thing to a 
bald, disjointed jargon. 

On the day following the council, the 
articles of peace were signed, and most of 
the tribes departed for their respective 
homes. A few of the Pawnees and Otoes 
remained to accompany the Commissioner 
to the village of the Osages, for the pur- 
pose of negotiating a peace with that tribe ; 
with whom they had long been at deadly 
enmity. 

Here then I will conclude this series of 
Indian Sketches; for the council being- 
ended and my curiosity satisfied, I deter- 
mined to return homeward on the follow- 
ing day. A feeling of sadness came over 
me as I prepared to leave those, with 
whom I had for months associated. How- 
ever different in dispositions and feelings, 
we had until then, been united by a link 
of sympathy. We had led the same life ; 
viewed the same scenes, and undergone 



296 INDIAN SKETCHES. 

the same privations. For months together 
one tent had sheltered us, and we had eat- 
en from the same board. A rough, un- 
tramelled friendship had sprung up be- 
tween us, increasing with the distance 
between ourselves and our homes, and 
strengthening as we retired farther from 
the abode of civilized man. 

But now we had returned from our 
wanderings, and were once more in the 
circle of our fellows. Still old recollec- 
tions bound us together by a golden tie, 
that was painful to sever ; and although 
my home with all its attractions rose in my 
fancy, yet I felt sad, when one of the or- 
derlies informed me that all was ready. 

I shook hands with my friends and com- 
rades of the wilderness, and mounting my 
mule, with a heavy heart, turned my back 
upon Leavenworth. 

THE END. 



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